


Harry Potter and the Black-Lupin Family

by AmeliaDarkholme



Series: Harry Potter and the Godfathers [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/M, Marauders, Post-Marauders Era (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-01-16 08:23:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 40,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18517624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmeliaDarkholme/pseuds/AmeliaDarkholme
Summary: Harry was ready for his First Year in Hogwarts. Growing up with two Marauders, he was used to hearing about the wonderful stories of how great life at Hogwarts was. Hopefully, he'd find lifelong friends the way his parents found theirs.Friends that he could trust with his life.





	1. PROLOGUE

**Author's Note:**

> This story is based on the little post I made on tumblr (ofqueensandwitches). It is the first part of eight in the series I've planned to make. I'll try to stick to Rowling's plot as much as I can, but of course, there will significant changes.

" _It's him, Lily! Take Harry and run! I'll hold him off as long as I can! Just go!"_

_"Please, not Harry! Not my Harry!"_

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

* * *

Sirius Black had made a mistake.

The moment he found Peter's house empty ( _fucking rat bastard_ ), Sirius knew that he had been so _wrong_. He prided himself on his ability to sense danger, but when he felt a chill running down his spine, for the first time ever, he wished he wasn't feeling it this time. He didn't spare another second and hurried off to Apparate to James' home. He felt like he was going to die right then and there when he saw the house was completely destroyed. He was trembling from top to toe, the grief he felt was too much for him, but still he forced himself to look into the house. Memories of his best friend ( _oh, James_ ) filled his mind as he stepped inside, moments when they spent Christmas together, or when he helped the young couple first moved into the house… A heart-wrenching sob escaped him when he found his best friend lying on the floor in the living room, his brown eyes were staring lifelessly at Sirius. His best friend, his  _brother_ , was dead. James was no more. Never again would he scold Sirius carelessness, even if he secretly found it funny. Never again would he sneak his wife's cooking for Sirius in the middle of the night during their weekly night-out. His best friend was  _gone_. It took all the will Sirius had in him to make his way into James' room ( _because good God, Sirius, Lily just_ can't  _sleep without Harry being ten feet away from her)_ , knowing already what he'd find there. But it still killed him when he saw Lily's form on the floor beside Harry's crib, where the baby himself was crying loudly for the mother that would never wake up again.

"Ma… Mama… Da…" little Harry cried, sobbing over his own tears. Sirius gulped and picked the baby up into his arms. The sight of a familiar face calmed the crying child a little bit, and he hiccuped a small giggle as his chubby fingers poked Sirius' cheek.

"Hiya, Harry," Sirius whispered, burying his face into Harry's mop of unruly hair ( _so much like James_ ). "You'll come with Padfoot, okay? I'll keep you save."

The baby looked at him, his uncanny green eyes ( _why, Lily? Why did you have to die and leave your child alone?_ ) looked right back into Sirius' grey ones with a startling odd look in them. It was like the little child understood what Sirius just told him. That was probably what made up his mind. He was aware that he had no experience in taking care of a child – heck, he could barely take care of  _himself,_ and there was a big chance Sirius' live would change greatly ( _I'm sorry Marlene)._ But he had promised James and Lily, and Sirius would keep that promise. Looking around the room, Sirius knew Harry was his number one priority now. Fucking Pettigrew just had to wait. He took enough time to picture his secret safe-house, all the way in New Zealand, and Apparated away right when Hagrid burst into the room, watching Sirius Disapparated from the house.

With Harry.

* * *

" _He took 'im! He took little 'Arry!_ " Hagrid bellowed when he appeared right in front of Dumbledore and McGonagall, waving his umbrella wildly with worrying carelessness.

"Merlin, Hagrid; low your voice down!" McGonagall hissed, her tone taking the usual stern and authoritative one she often used toward her students.

( _Especially to that meddling foursome._ )

"I'm sorry, Professor!" Hagrid whispered quickly, though it was still loud enough to probably wake the Muggles within twenty to fifty radius. "But he took 'Arry!"

"Who, Hagrid?" Dumbledore asked, his voice all calm and collected, but one could still detect the urgency in it. "Who took Harry?"

" _Sirius Black!_ " Hagrid exclaimed. "He was there in the house when I got there. 'Saw him Disapparated away."

"Oh, dear…" McGonagall breathed, her face paling a little. "What Pettigrew said was right. He was right. Black – "

"Now, now, Minerva," Dumbledore cut her off. "We shouldn't be jumping to conclusions so quickly. I'm sure that Sirius has an explanation to what he did."

"But, what if – "

" _No_ ," Dumbledore said, this time there was a finality in his light tone. "Sirius wouldn't do that to James. The boy is capable of many things, but he'll never betray his brother."

McGonagall pursed her thin lips but said nothing more. Sighing, she finally said, "What shall we do then, Albus?"

Giving a sad smile, Dumbledore said, "We wait and pray that Sirius knows what he's doing. We have faith in him and hope for the best."

* * *

A loud cry was heard in the small cottage in Inglewood, New Zealand. The cry obviously came from the small child being held by the tall man with his mercurial eyes, his handsome face looked worn and tired.

"Don't cry, Harry, please," Sirius said softly, bouncing Harry a little in his arms as he paced around the room. "It's only been three days. We'll have to make sure that Voldemort is really gone. Until then, it's not safe for us to go back home."

Miraculously, the baby's cries ceased to exist. Clapping his hands together, he began to giggle. Sirius sighed in relief and kissed the top of Harry's head.

"Thank you, Fawn. I promise, we'll go home soon. I promise."

* * *

"It's been a week, Dumbledore! A week and I've got  _nothing_!" Remus yelled as he barged into Dumbledore's office. "Please tell me that –  _what is_   _he doing here_?"

Remus stared ( _he glared, actually_ ) at the form of his childhood nemesis sitting in front of his former Headmaster. Snape was just as unpleasant to look at as he was back when they were still students of Hogwarts. But Remus knew that he was now a Death Eater, and he could  _not_  understood what in the world was Dumbledore thinking to accept the greasy snake.

"Ah, Remus," Dumbledore said, smiling brightly at the werewolf. "Do sit down, please."

"I'm sitting nowhere beside that Death Eater," Remus snapped, glaring murderously at the former Slytherin, whose black eyes were staring at Remus with absolute hatred. The pain of losing his best friend were enough for Remus to have a personality transplant.

"Nor would I sit with a werewolf," Snape answered silkily. That did it for Remus.

"You-"

"Boys, sit down," Dumbledore said sharply. "You two are adults now. I expect you to be way over your petty, childish rivalry."

Both men ( _oh Merlin, but look how much they'd both grown_ ) glared murderously at each other. But in the end, they complied and Remus took a sit beside Snape, who scooted his chair away from Remus not-so swiftly. If Dumbledore sensed the tension between his former students, he was wise enough to ignore it and instead, he grabbed a piece of parchment that he received just a couple of hours before Snape came to see him.

"Remus, you were asking why Severus was here. Well, he came to see me to ask whether I had a spot for a rogue Death Eater that would spy for me on Voldemort."

"'Rogue Death Eater'?" Remus snorted. "You can't stop being one. Once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater."

"He told me that he knew the culprit who sold James and Lily to Voldemort," Dumbledore continued. Instantly, that got Remus' attention.

"What?" he yelped. "Wait a second…  _He what?_ "

"Wow, Lupin, I didn't know you were this stupid," Snape drawled maliciously. "No wonder he got away so easily."

"Shut up, you bastard," Remus spat, whirling around to face the Death Eater. "You don't talk unless you tell me who was it that-"

"It's Pettigrew," Snape said curtly, the look on his face told Remus how stupid he thought Remus was. "You must be a bigger idiot than both Potter and Black combined if you didn't notice the time he spent missing at night."

Remus would have killed Snape for the off-handed comment he made on James and Sirius, had it not for the fact that he was too shocked to react. It couldn't be true. He just saw Peter  _minutes_ ago, and his old friend was still grieving for James and Lily, all the while blaming himself for what Sirius had done as Remus and Dorcas tried to calm his hysterics, the whole time trying to keep themselves under control. Once he finally got over his shock, an uncontrollable anger began to take over. Remus rarely let the wolf in him to dictate his emotions, but right at that moment, he wished that it was the full moon so he could let the beast loose on his  _so-called_  best friend.

" _That bastard_ ," Remus hissed, barely able to contain his anger as his green eyes flashed yellow for a moment. "After  _all_  James and Sirius had done for him.  _How could he…_ "

"He'll pay for it, Remus," Dumbledore said. "He'll pay for his crimes."

Remus nodded wordlessly, too angry to say anything.

"Now that we have everything explained, I'm going to show you the letter I just received this morning from Sirius."

* * *

"We're coming home, Harry," Sirius said, a small but radiant smile on his handsome face. "We're coming home and we'll see Uncle Moony again, and Aunt Marley and Aunt Doe."

Little Harry giggled when Sirius tickled his tummy. The sound brought a round of laughter from the man as he scanned his cottage for once last time. The sole Heir to the Black family fortune, the only male Black left in Britain, knew that this was it; that this was the time for him to face everything back home. He'd been gone for over two weeks, and it was time to get Peter - no,  _Pettigrew_  for everything he'd done.

And made him pay for betraying his friends.

* * *

_Bang. Bang. Bang._

The sound that came for the little hammer Barty Crouch Sr pounded against his table sealed the fate of one Peter Pettigrew night. The man's beady eyes went wide as tears went down his face profusely before he began to wail, yelling and screaming for his last two remaining friends for mercy, fighting to break-free from the grip of the two Aurors that held him. But said friends never budged, their face impassive as they stared at the crying man that was screaming their name.

"Sirius! Remus! _Please_ , don't let them take me! Don't do this to me! I'm sorry!  _I'm sorry!_  I know I shouldn't have done it,  _but please_! Please, don't do this," Pettigrew screamed loudly, still fighting with all his might, even as he was being dragged away by the Aurors.

But still, Sirius and Remus showed no mercy. The werewolf merely grabbed Harry from Sirius's arms before he exited the room with his girlfriend beside him, his face showed little to no emotion except the blatant hatred he had for the screaming  _filth_  as he walked through throng of people with his best friend's son his arms. And Sirius… The last living heir of the Black family merely stared stonily at Pettigrew, his mercurial eyes, cold and brutal they were toward people he loathed, never showed the mercy his former friend asked from him. They just stared long and hard, until he too followed his best friend and his Godson, linking his hand with his fiancee for her comfort.

Pettigrew's loud scream could be heard all over the fifth floor of the Ministry when he saw both of his old friends had left him.


	2. FIRST YEAR: Going to Hogwarts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Harry went to Hogwarts and made new friends, his Godparents tried to deal with his absence.

 

 

 

"First day of school, huh?" Sirius said to his Godson. It was Harry's first year and the boy only had a few minutes before he had to board the train soon.

"Yep," Harry said with a grin. "I'm finally going to Hogwarts.  _Finally!_ "

"What? So eager to get rid off us so soon?" Remus chuckled as he stood beside his best friend. Despite the relatively happy occasion, Remus couldn't help the gut-wrenching feeling he felt when he looked at Harry, remembering how twenty years ago, there was another boy who looked  _a lot_  like Harry who had incessantly asked Remus about his name until he relented.

"It's not like that, Remus," Harry said quickly. "I only wanted to go see the place where Mum and Dad met. I mean, you guys told me all the stories about their days here."

"Relax, kid," Sirius said, laughing his signature bark-like laugh. "We know you didn't mean it that way... Now come here, little Prongsie; give your Mummy and I a kiss."

"Sirius," Harry said, scrunching his nose as he tried pull his face away from Sirius' grip when the man tried to smother him in kisses the way Harry's Godmothers always did. "Knock it off already. You have a _fiancee_  remember."

"Yeah, how am I supposed to explain to Marlene that her stupid  _boyfriend_  is lusting after me? Besides, why should  _I_  be the mother?"

"Because you're fussy like an annoying mum!" Sirius exclaimed childishly. "We both know that if anyone should be the dad between the two of us, it'll be me. And Marlene would just laugh it off. She knew she said yes to a dick when I proposed to her."

"Language, Sirius," Remus spat, still a bit annoyed because of how his friend described him. Said friend merely grinned in return.

"See, Harry? He scolded me, a full grown wizard. A mother, I told you."

The train whistled, signalling that Harry really had to go. Feeling Sirius' hand on his back, Harry gave the Pureblood a hug and said, "Promise you'll tell me when Marlene gives birth?"

Sirius smiled and bent his knees so he was eye-level with his Godson. "Of course, I will. You know what; I'll probably ask for a day off from Dumbledore so you could come and see."

"Okay," Harry said, relieved with the promise Sirius gave. Turning to his other father-figure, Harry gave Remus his hug, to which the werewolf returned whole-heartedly. "Look after Sirius for me, okay? Tell Dorcas to make sure he doesn't sneak into the kitchen anymore. We can't have him burning the house down to the ground."

" _Hey!"_ Sirius protested jokingly.

"Don't worry about that, Harry," Remus chuckled, ruffling Harry's hair. "Now, go. You don't want to be late, right?"

Harry nodded with a smile before he went toward the train, looking over his shoulder once so he could wave at his Godfathers. True, legally, Sirius and Marlene were registered as his legal guardians. But Remus and Dorcas had their own part on raising him, so Harry felt that it was only fair to consider them his Godparents as well. He boarded the train with little difficulties, thanks to his trunk being  _so heavy_ because of what his Godmothers had stored in it. Marlene and Dorcas took the role of being a mother  _so seriously_ , sometimes Harry found it super annoying when they began to smother him with attention. There was no question about Harry's love and affection for both women, but sometimes it could be too much. Thank Merlin Sirius and Remus were there to remind them that Harry would be okay and there would be no need for them to constantly watch over Harry 24/7. Quickly manoeuvring around the train, Harry found an empty compartment to sit. Storing his trunk into the cabin, he was just in time to wave at Sirius and Remus through the windows before the train started moving. The Pureblood and his werewolf friend waved back at Harry, smiling so wide Harry thought his face would split. When the train took a turn and Harry could no longer see his Godfathers, that was when he finally sat on one of the many empty seats. He felt his heart beating madly in both excitement and fear. He was going to Hogwarts at last – the place where his parents met, where it all began.

"Can I sit in here? Everywhere else is full."

Harry looked away from the window to see a tall and freckled boy with red hair standing in the door to his compartment. He was wearing oversized jumper that had probably seen better days before. The boy looked really awkward and lonely, one hand tapping the handle of his trunk while the other was shoved deep into his pocket.

"Sure," Harry said, smiling. He remembered Remus telling him that it was always important to make friends with everyone, no matter how their appearances were.

The redhead's face cracked in an earnest grin as he hurried to get in. He gave out his hand to Harry after he'd put his trunk away and finally taking a seat in front of Harry. "I'm Ron Weasley. Nice to meet you."

"Harry Potter." He braced himself for the reaction he knew would  _definitely_ happen, and was not disappointed when Ron's eyes went wide as saucers.

"Bloody hell…" the redhead whistled. " _You're Harry Potter?"_

Sighing, Harry said, "Yep. That's me."

Ron blinked a couple times until he spoke again. "Do you really live with Aurors Sirius Black and Remus Lupin?"

Ever since the death of Harry's parents, Sirius and Remus became  _very_ popular for their participation in capturing their own best friend Peter Pettigrew, who had betrayed James and Lily. That was what led to their decision to join the Aurors, despite being a little too late. It didn't matter because both men were brilliant wizards, and they finished their training faster than most candidates did. Fuelled by their best friends' death and Wormtail's betrayal, Sirius and Remus swore that they'd try all their might to capture ( _or kill)_ every single Death Eater in the world, and would never stop fighting until they'd killed Voldemort. That made the two remaining Marauders very popular in the world. It didn't help that their significant others, Sirius' fiancée Marlene McKinnon and Remus' wife Dorcas Lupin neé Meadowes, had managed to make a name for themselves. Marlene worked in the Ministry as the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, strategically placed by the Order ( _and_ nope,  _Harry didn't spend most of his nights eavesdropping to his Godparents' conversation, nu-uh)_ to watch everything the Ministry did, and was popular for being the one who had managed to make sure other countries from around the world would support Britain in fighting off Voldemort. Dorcas, on the other hand, was Chief Healer in St Mungo's, and she was the reason why Sirius and Remus managed to escape death  _numerous_ times from all the times they were injured badly during a mission.

"They are my Godfathers," Harry finally answered. "And yes, before you ask about it; I also live with Marlene McKinnon and Dorcas Lupin."

"Wow," Ron said. "What are you doing here then?"

It made Harry frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean… Seeing that you are who you are, I thought you'd be hanging out with the others. You know… People like Malfoy and his friends."

"Ron," Harry noticed Ron's eyes widened at the mention of his first name. "You do know who my parents were, right? Who my Godfathers are? Why in the world would I want to hang around with people like  _Malfoy_?"

"I'm sorry," Ron quickly said, his ears going red. "It's just… I just figured that, seeing your Godfather was the Head Council for the Sacred Twenty Eight, and well, the fact that you're famous and…and rich, you'd prefer someone like them."

The way Ron talked reminded Harry of the story Sirius told him about how he and Harry's father befriended Remus. The redhead in front of him had the same low self-esteem as his Godfather did, and Harry felt almost  _obligated_ to befriend Ron. He knew his parents would be  _so proud_ of him if they were watching up there from Heaven. Grinning, Harry said, "Ron Weasley, I'd rather be friends with you than Malfoy. Promise."

( _"Remus Lupin, I hereby promise you that myself and my best friend Sirius Black will be your friend till the end of time.")_

_("Yeah! And we would have made an Unbreakable Vow right now, if only we knew how. So, hopefully, our words would be enough for you.")_

* * *

"It's time for dinner! Pack your toys up, boys!"

"Doe, they are  _not_ toys! They are limited edition of the Tornados' and Puddlemere's figurines!"

"Remus, tell your boyfriend to quit it or I'll set Marlene loose on him."

"Of course, love… Sirius, pack it up."

"You are  _so_ whipped, Moony. Really."

"I'll bloody whip  _you_ if you didn't come down now, Black."

"Ooh, kinky!"

_"Sirius!"_

"Right away, Marley dear."

It was a daily thing in the Black-Lupin household to hear loud noises between the two couples that resided there. At least, the Black Manor was big enough to house  _twenty_ families and had no neighbours within the radius of fifty metres, so there would be no problem about complaining neighbours. It was built right after Wormtail's captivity, when Sirius and Remus decided that if they wanted to raise Harry together, it would be better for them to live together. But, seeing that both of their partners wished for privacy, even if they understood the importance of looking after Harry for both Sirius and Remus, the heir to the Black fortune ended up asking the Magi-architect to design a manor with more than enough space. Thank Merlin Sirius had near to unlimited resources because it wasn't exactly cheap to build the manor. Originally, after he was disowned, all of the Black fortune was supposed to be passed on to his brother Regulus. But because the younger Black had died before Sirius or their parents did, Orion and Walburga were forced to change the name back to Sirius' in their will, much to their utmost dismay. Before James' and Lily's death, Sirius would never touch a single Knut in the family vault. It was only because he realised the urgent need of his parents' money that he finally relented.

After Sirius and Remus had finished tidying up their toys ( _"It's actually Harry's, really."),_  they quickly headed downstairs to the dining room, knowing that they better not made the women waited any longer. Sirius quickly positioned himself on his usual seat beside Marlene, while Remus took his seat beside Dorcas. He watched his pregnant fiancée of ten years bustling around the kitchen with her best friend with pure adoration in his eyes, wondering how the hell he could get  _so lucky._ He remembered that night when he found Marlene under the rubble of her parents' home, her whole family slaughtered by the Death Eaters that attacked them when they were celebrating Marlene's sister's birthday. Sirius wasted no time and Apparated her to St Mungo's, the whole time wishing she wouldn't  _die_ in his arms. James and Lily were still alive back then, and Sirius was pretty sure the only reason he hadn't completely gone mad was because of their support. When it was finally revealed that Marlene would be alright, Sirius  _cried_ in relief with Lily's arms around him, stroking his hair as she whispered assurances into his ear while James patted his back gently. He only had a fake-ring in his hand, a gift from this Muggle candy Lily gave him, but he didn't care about it  _at all_ when he marched into Marlene's room when she was finally awake, proposing her with the fake-ring. It had been a decade, and even if they hadn't married yet because they deemed the time wasn't right yet, what with war going on, Sirius still loved Marlene more than he loved life itself.

"Has Dumbledore said anything about Harry yet?" Dorcas asked as they finally began to dig in.

"Not yet," Remus answered. "I think Harry's just arrived an hour ago, Doe. And given the normal duration of the feast, Dumbledore wouldn't be able to Floo or send a Patronus until very late."

"Oh yeah…" Dorcas muttered before letting a small sigh. "God, he's only been gone for twelve hours but I miss him already."

"Yeah, me too," Marlene agreed. "I almost went to his room asking what did he want for dinner, before stopping myself right before I knocked on his door."

"Our boy has grown, huh?" Sirius said with a fond smile. "Soon enough, he'll be asking  _me_ about dating advices."

"You've got the  _worst_ dating advices, Sirius," Marlene said, rolling her eyes. "If Harry should be asking anyone about it, that'd be  _me."_

_"_ You're a girl, love. Why in the world would he ask you?"

"I think you could very well answer that one yourself,  _love."_

Their bickering made the Lupins laughed out loud. Reaching for her husband's hand from under the table, Dorcas said, "Let's just hope that Harry wouldn't be as much of a trouble as you boys were."

" _Dorcas,"_ Sirius sighed dramatically, giving her a mock-strict look. "Don't be silly. You  _do_ know who his father was, right? He also grew up with  _two_ Marauders raising him, and said Marauders told him stories about how they all, including his late father,  were back when they were kids. It think it's a given that Harry would be a prankster as well."

"Harry's a good boy," Remus said. "He could be a handful at times, but it's a good thing I'm always around to make sure Sirius hasn't corrupted the child completely."

" _Moony!"_ Sirius whined. "You're supposed to be on  _my_ side. I am disappointed in you, mate. No Elf-wine for you for a week."

Remus shrugged nonchalantly. "Whatever, Sirius. I can always ask my wife or Marlene. I'm sure they'd be more than glad to give some for me instead of you."

"Only if you behave, mister," Dorcas said with a wink, discreetly squeezing Remus' hand that was still under the table. A rare, sneaky grin took over the werewolf's face as he raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, I'll  _behave,_ alright," Remus drawled, leaning in for a kiss. At the sight of their best friends kissing, both Sirius and Marlene scrunched their faces in disgust.

"Get a room, you two," Marlene said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah! I'm eating over here!" Sirius agreed. The Lupins ignored them. Instead, Remus lifted his wife from her seat and carried her to their room, ignoring their unfinished dinner.

The remaining couple left in dining room could only stare at the rare display of affection they saw with wide eyes. But Sirius could only be silent for so long before a smirk came to his face.

"Wow, that's new," Sirius chuckled, eyeing the door where the Lupins just disappeared into. "Looks like they're  _eager_ to make a baby of their own."

Marlene slapped her fiancé hard on the back of his head. "You are  _very_ crude, you know. Why the hell did I say yes to your proposal was  _beyond_  me."

Giving his fiancée a wolfish grin, Sirius said, "It's because you  _love_ me, Miss Marlene. Now, come on. Let's finish our food so I can go bother Remus."


	3. FIRST YEAR: The Malfoy Kid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His name was Malfoy. Draco Malfoy.

Hermione Granger woke up with a bright smile on her face that first day of her being a student of Hogwarts. She'd always known that there was something… _different_ about her, that there was a reason why she could never feel belong with her friends back at home. It was until that summer when Minerva McGonagall came to her house, after the arrival of her Hogwarts letter, that Hermione finally understood why. To say that she was ecstatic to find out that she actually belonged to a whole new world – a  _magical_ one – would be an understatement. The moment McGonagall took her and her parents to Diagon Alley to buy her things, Hermione took it as her chance to get  _all_ the books she could get her hands on about this new world she was about to be a part in, so she could understand everything. She learned a great a deal during the summer before she went to Hogwarts, about dragons and spells and many other things. The thing that caught her attention the most was when she read the book titled  _The Sacred Twenty-Eight._ The book explained about this council of what the author called as Purebloods, which meant people who came from a long line of magic. The book told her that most of the members were prejudiced when it came to Muggle-borns; people like Hermione who had no magical blood. But there were some Purebloods who were open-minded and very accepting toward the Muggle-borns. This resulted in a horrible war, led by an evil wizard named Lord Voldemort, that killed many people from both sides of the war. The information she learned brought both pain and also a weird sense of excitement to little Hermione. She was very disappointed to find out that there would be people out here who hated her just because of her bloodline, yet she was also interested in knowing further about this war. She always loved the stories her Grandfather told her about the World War 2 he was involved in.

After she was done getting ready, Hermione grabbed her school-bag she had prepared the previous night, and quickly went out of the girls' dormitory and out of Gryffindor Tower. She hastily made her way down to Great Hall, hoping that she could talk to  _someone_ she met the previous day on the train, hoping that she had enough time before her first class. When she boarded the train after the train started to whistle its signal for all passengers to board the train, she had a little trouble when she tried to pull her heavy trunk onto the train. Her parents were a little too busy looking around the train station with a wondrous amazement akin to that of a little child had. So, Hermione was all alone, struggling with all her might to get the train on board, when she felt a hand helped her. The hand was not much bigger than her, but it certainly belonged to a boy's. With a little grunt, they both managed to finally lift the trunk onto the train. Once she was done huffing huge breaths of air from her mouth, Hermione turned her head to have a look at the person who had helped her. Now, we all had to remember that little Hermione wasn't  _so_ little after all. She was almost twelve, and she already had small crushes on her neighbour Jimmy Booth, who, in her opinion, was  _really_ handsome. But, when she got a good look on the boy standing beside her, whose skin was a shade lighter than her own, with platinum-blonde hair and mesmerising grey eyes, Hermione found herself dumbstruck at the presence of this beautiful boy.

"Excuse me?" a boy with messy raven-hair said, interrupting her thoughts. "Do you still want that?"

Hermione blinked and focused her sight at the boy in front of her. The first thing she noticed was his startling green-eyes. He was giving her a smile as he pointed at the jug of pumpkin juice in her hand, and Hermione blushed when she realised she had been holding it for awhile. Passing it to his hand, she said, "I'm sorry. I got a little sidetracked."

"That's alright," he said, still smiling. "You're Hermione, right?"

"Yeah, that's me," Hermione said, shaking his hand when he gave it to her. "I didn't mean to be rude, but you are…?"

"I'm Harry Potter," he said in small voice, flinching when the students within the radius of a meter away from instantly whipped their heads in his direction. Nodding at the redhead beside him, he said, "And this is my friend, Ron Weasley."

"I'm Hermione Granger," she said half-distractedly, her mind had gone through all the information she read in the books her parents bought her because these two boys' name were  _familiar._ When everything clicked in her mind, she gasped loudly. " _Oh my God, you're Harry Potter!"_

"Ah, yes…" Harry muttered, blushing a little. "But will you please don't say my name out loud?"

Harry shouldn't be worried about it though, because Hermione had turned her head to Ron, who looked a little scared at the excited look on the young girl's face. " _And you!_ Your family is part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight!"

"They are – I mean,  _we_ are," Ron said quickly, looking a little pleased. But it quickly changed as he tilted his head to the side a little, watching Hermione closely. "You're a Muggle-born, aren't you?"

Hermione stiffened immediately at the use of the term. That  _boy_ had said the same thing to her as well when she said no about whether she was related to Hector Dagworth-Granger, before quickly excusing himself with a barely audible mutter. Crossing her arms defensively, Hermione said, "I  _am_ a Muggle-born. Do you have a problem with that?"

Before Ron could answer, however, Harry had done it for him. "Not all of the Purebloods are as prejudiced as the old generations were. There are some who are just plain evil, yes. But I can assure you that the Weasleys are good people."

"Yeah," Ron said, giving her a friendly smile. "We Weasleys aren't like most of the Dark Pureblood families out there, like the Blacks and the Malfoys."

" _Excuse me,"_ Harry's voice rang loud and clear in blatant offence. Ron's ears went red in shame, as if he was chastised.

"Right, sorry," the redhead murmured. "I forgot your Godfather was a Black."

Hermione would have asked Harry whether the Godfather Ron talked about was  _the_ Sirius Black she had read in many of her books, when that  _boy_ came into the Great Hall. Two boys that were bigger than him were following dutifully as hewalked ahead of them with two pairs of boys and girls. Ron's words went on infinite repeat in her head as her eyes kept on following  _his_ figure going to the Slytherin table, the farthest one from her Gryffindor table. She knew that the moment she learned who he was, and remembered about his family being the second oldest after the Blacks, there were little to no chance for them to be friends –  _at all._ But she still hoped that maybe, this boy might be different. That maybe, he'd turn out alright against all of his parents teachings. He wouldn't be the first one if he did. Sirius Black, according to the stories she read, had done it twenty years ago. So, for the rest of the morning until she had to go to class, she spent her time eyeing the boy that had helped her to get her trunk onto the train, willing him to look at her and show some sort of recognition in his beautiful grey eyes.

He did, in the end, found her eyes in the midst of the crowd.

Except they were now filled with disgust.

_("Thanks for helping me.")_

_("Yeah, well; you look like you needed it.")_

* * *

Marlene McKinnon knew what she was signing up for when she joined the Order of the Phoenix. She knew that she was signing up for a long life of mortal danger and more than possible-death. She was only eighteen when she first got involved head-first into the War, just a few months after she graduated out of Hogwarts. Almost immediately, her friends started dying out one by one, murdered in a fight or during an ambush. She lost a total of around thirty friends during the first war, and she remembered  _every_ single one of them and the details about how they died. It was a year later when she lost her family; her parents and her siblings. Marlene herself would have died if the Order hadn't arrived hours later, right on time to save her from the loss of blood. When she woke up and found Sirius sitting on the standard-issue visitor's seat beside her bed, his limbs folded into himself in a very uncomfortable way, that was when Marlene knew that she could lose  _everything_ in this world, even her life. But she could  _never_ stand it if she lost the stubborn Pureblood that she kicked in the balls in their fifth year. So, when she woke him up and he hastily, after a few deep kisses and tears, proposed to her with a fake-ring that had plastic diamonds on it, Marlene said with no doubt at all. She still had the ring with her, hanging as a charm to her _expensive_ bracelet, much to Sirius' amusement.

"Mar?" Dorcas' said, her head poking out from behind the door of the Marlene's room.

"Hi, Doe," Marlene greeted meekly, waving her hand to signal her friend to come in. Dorcas did so and took a seat beside Marlene, who had scooted to the left side. Sirius always slept on the right, so he could be between her and whatever danger that would come through the door _._

"You're feeling okay? How's my future-honorary-niece?" The petite witch patted Marlene's swollen belly, smiling fondly at the thought of little-Marlene or little-Sirius running around the house. The witch was due to give birth in two weeks.

"We're fine, Auntie Doe," Marlene chuckled, squeezing her best friend's hand firmly. The two witches then shared a look, which prompted a distressed sigh out of Marlene. "Personally, though, I'll be much better if our boys are home."

Letting out another sigh, Marlene leaned further into her pillows and closed her eyes. It had been a little over two months since Harry left for Hogwarts, and just a week later, Sirius and Remus were summoned to go on an Auror mission. Both of them always went together because they worked better with each other than with others. But it had been ten days since Marlene heard anything from her man, and she knew that Dorcas hadn't anything from Remus as well. Every time there was an owl perching by the kitchen windows, Marlene hoped it was from Sirius (or Remus, for Dorcas' sake). But the only mails she got were from Harry and from work. The beautiful witch began to worry about her husband, knowing that Sirius could be a little too heroic and self-sacrificing every time it involved people he cared about. She had tried contacting Mad-Eye Moody in hopes that the temperamental wizard would tell her anything about her fiancé. But, as always, Moody wouldn't say a thing. He merely said that Sirius and Remus were going to a very dangerous and deathly mission ( _as if that would sooth her worries),_ and that Marlene shouldn't worry because Sirius and Remus were more than just brilliant wizards.

"And if they were hurt," Moody had added with a twisted grin. "It probably wouldn't be that bad. Maybe they'd lose an arm, or a leg. Or their eyes. Not worth all the fuss."

Marlene would have hexed Moody right then and there if she wasn't worrying about the fact that if she got too worked up, she'd injure her baby.

"I can't believe you got pregnant before I did," Dorcas said, interrupting Marlene's thought. There was something that sounded peculiarly like jealousy in her tone.

"I told you, Doe, we didn't mean for it to happen. Stupid Sirius got the both of us too drunk to be sensible adults and put some Contraceptive Charms."

"Still though… At least Sirius was never against having a baby. You two just agreed to wait until the time was right. Now, Remus, he's another story."

Marlene smiled sadly at Dorcas. She knew how the petite witch wanted to have a child so badly. But Remus feared that his lycanthropy was hereditary, and he swore that he'd never condemned his child with the terrible fate he had. It wasn't like Remus didn't like children or didn't want them. If that was the case, Dorcas could probably try to make peace with herself and tried to move on about the topic of having a child. But it was because the fact that Remus was  _scared_ to have children, both his own or adopted, that made the longing Dorcas felt was almost too unbearable – _because she knew that Remus wanted a child too._ It took sometime for Sirius to convince Remus that  _both_ of them should raise Harry. After he finally relented, it took Remus another five months till he finally had the guts to hold Harry. Sirius and Marlene had relentlessly told the werewolf that he was a good man; that he shouldn't be worried that he would hurt his children or that he'd pass his lycanthropy to his kids because, from what Marlene had tried to find out, there was no case reciting about lycanthropy being hereditary  _("That's because no werewolf ever had a proper family," Remus had replied coolly.)._ And if it turned to be hereditary, they all promised to help Remus and the child, and convinced him that it wouldn't be his fault at all. But Remus Lupin was every bit a Marauder as his best friend Sirius Black was, and therefore, extreme stubbornness was a trait the two shared.

"He'll change his mind, Doe," Marlene said, patting Dorcas' knee. "I've caught him looking fondly at Sirius caressing my belly many times. I can tell that he really wants to have a child of his own."

"Yes, but when? When will he finally change his mind? Mar, I'm not getting any younger. I'm already thirty-one. In ten years, I'll be too old to carry a child. It's easy for him to wait. Men don't have to carry their spawn for nine months and risk their lives getting the kid out of them," Dorcas said miserably. Marlene sighed, knowing how frustrated her best friend was.

"Have faith in him. Remus is a smart man; he'll know that he can't have you waiting on him to be ready for too long." Taking a deep breath, Marlene knew she had to change the subject because it had turned too melancholic. "Now, do you want to me to read you the letter I just received from Harry? He told me something very interesting about the Halloween feast."

During the two months Harry had spent in Hogwarts, many things had happened to him. First thing Harry told them was that he befriended the youngest Weasley boy ( _"Oh, Molly's son, right?" Sirius had said. "Our boy is a clever one after all. I really liked Molly's brothers, Fabian and Gideon. They knew really good pranks.")_ and in no time, they'd become really good friends. Secondly, he told them that he was also good friends with Neville Longbottom, though the boy was a bit too quiet for Harry's mischievous nature. He then told them about the day he got into the Quidditch team as a Seeker (" _A Seeker! The first one in a century to ever make the team as a_ first  _year!" Marlene and Dorcas had yelled as the two twirled around the dining room.)._ Each one of his letters brought laughter in the Black-Lupin household, and the adults always waited for his letters eagerly.

"Oh, how is he doing?" Dorcas said immediately. "Is he doing alright? It was the same day as his parents' death anniversary after all, and he had to go through it alone for the first time."

"He was a bit distraught, yes. I mean, who wouldn't? But, halfway through the feast, that new DADA professor, Quirrel, came running into the Hall, yelling that a troll just broke into the dungeons."

"Dear Merlin… What happened then? Was he hurt?"

"Well, this was where the story got really interesting. He said that, a few hours prior to the feast, his friend Ron got into a huge argument with Harry's only female friend, Hermione Granger."

"Oh, the Muggle-born? The one who reminded him of Lily?"

"Yes, that one. Harry didn't tell me what exactly Ron and Hermione fought about, but he said that it hurt Hermione's feelings greatly and she ended up locking herself in the girl's bathroom for hours, crying. When the troll came, Harry realised that Hermione would be in grave danger if she happened to find the troll on her own. So, dragging Ron with him, our boy decided that – "

" – he should take down the troll by himself," Dorcas finished, eyes wide in pure mortification.

Marlene grinned a little at the look on Dorcas face before she continued. "He didn't really say that, no. He said that he went to warn Hermione. But when Harry and Ron got to the girl's bathroom, he found that the bathroom was in ruins and that there was no Hermione in sight. They thought the troll had eaten her or something, so they rushed to try and find a teacher. Why they hadn't thought it sooner was beyond me."

"That's because he is a Marauder's son and raised by two Marauders," Dorcas replied with a fond grin. Both witches then shared a laugh.

"True… Anyway, as they were scouring around Hogwarts to find some help, they heard a bone-chilling scream when they got to the dungeons. They breathed in relief for a split second, happy that their friend wasn't eaten by the troll. But, they realised that the scream must meant that Hermione was in danger. So, they quickly went toward the source of the noise, where they sound the troll's loud roar and another one of Hermione's scream and also, another voice that belonged to someone they didn't know. They quickened their feet, fearing for the worst. They finally got to the dungeon, saw the troll waving stomping toward Hermione menacingly. But, she wasn't alone. There was – "

_– There was someone else with Hermione, guys! There was a boy standing between Hermione and the troll, a first year from the looks of it, and he was trying all his might to fight off the troll himself. It took me and Ron awhile to realise that the boy was Malfoy! He was throwing off spells far advanced for a first year, and we all know the only reason I could tell what spells he used was because Sirius had taught me himself secretly when he thought Remus wasn't looking. I didn't waste another second; I quickly went to help Malfoy after I told Ron to take Hermione with him and run to find some help. Unfortunately, right at that moment, both Malfoy and I got a bit distracted because 1) I was talking to Ron and 2) the troll nearly crushed Hermione with his beater. It took its chance and grabbed me and Malfoy by the foot, dangling us upside down. In the end, it was Ron who defeated the troll after all. With Hermione's guide, he Levitated the beater out of the troll's hand, and let it dropped violently on its head._

_I broke my ankle when the troll dropped me onto the ground before it fell unconscious, by the way._

_That was when the teachers arrived. Everyone was there, even Dumbledore. And, boy, I'd never seen Professor McGonagall yelled that loud. I knew it was out of relief though, so I let her be. Much to our utmost surprise though, Hermione took all the blame when McGonagall was about to take points from us for being irresponsible, saying that she wanted to test out whether she could defeat a troll all by herself. A horrible lie, if you ask me, but McGonagall bought it. Then, still with a cross-look on her face, McGonagall awarded ten points for me and Ron and Malfoy, who was oddly silent the whole time McGonagall was screaming, avoiding Snape's stare because the greasy bat was staring at him with an intensity that could fry an egg. While McGonagall whisked me and Ron and Hermione to Hospital Wing, wholly convinced that we should stay for a week lest we were fatally injured, Snape merely led Draco wordlessly back to Slytherin Dungeon._

"Hold up…" Dorcas said after Marlene was done with her story. "Are you telling me that Lucius Malfoy's beloved  _son_ was helping a  _Muggle-born?"_

"Our boy was nearly killed and  _that_ was the first thing that caught her attention?" Marlene remarked in amusement. Dorcas rolled her eyes in return.

"Harry was fine. McGonagall would have Owled us if anything happened to him… But, back to Malfoy. The little boy must have used advanced magic meant for a  _sixth_  year to fight off a full-grown troll. And he did that to  _save_ a Muggle-born? That is insane!"

"I thought so too. I mean, if this happened to Lily and it was Lucius who found her first, he probably would have  _lured_ the troll to eat her. And I'm pretty sure the boy was raised the same way Lucius was back when the bastard was – "

Marlene froze abruptly before doubling over in pain. Between her legs, she felt something wet and warm coating them.

"Oh my God…" Dorcas whispered, her own eyes were already set to the red patch on the bed. Jumping onto her feet, the petite witch instantly went on full Healer-mode and began to fuss over her best friend. "Marlene, we need to get you to St Mungo's now. Wait here and I'll get some help, okay?"

But Marlene wasn't listening. All she could think about was that she was going to lose her baby.

_And she needed her Sirius to hold her._


	4. FIRST YEAR: Babies and Apples

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sirius came home to a surprise.
> 
> Draco stumbled upon a secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the sake of the story, I have decided that I will ignore most of the stuffs about the Marauders that Rowling revealed on Pottermore.

Sirius Black barely had enough strength to drag himself back home from the Auror office. If it hadn't been for the fact that he missed his woman greatly, he'd probably crash in one of the dorms at the office till next month. Both he and Remus were rather injured seriously, but at least they returned with five Death Eaters with them, ready to be shipped off to Azkaban. Moody initially wanted him and Remus to spend a day or two at St Mungo's. But the Marauders really couldn't stand another second away from their partners, and when Moody weren't looking, the two quickly Apparated back home. Sirius was grateful that Remus wasn't injured as bad as he was that the werewolf could still help him to wobble around. He hadn't checked it yet, but Sirius was pretty sure that he completely busted his left leg, and there was something definitely wrong with the wound in his head because it kept on bleeding, even if it wasn't pouring profusely. It gave him killer-headache, but Sirius shrugged it away. He was hoping that he'd find his pregnant fiancée waiting for him in their room, ready to hex his balls off from worrying the crap out of her. Imagine the horror he felt when he saw there was no one home, and that there was a huge patch of blood on their bed. Almost instantly, Sirius felt really weak in the knees, he didn't realise he had dropped all of his weight on his best friend.

"Where is she, Moony?" Sirius whispered, trembling from top to toe. "Where is my Marlene?"

"We…we'll find him, Padfoot," Remus rasped, worrying about his wife as well because Dorcas was nowhere to be found too. "We'll get Moody to ready his men and find – "

As if some kind of higher power had heard them, Dorcas' Patronus flew into the room, catching them off guard. The silvery-white bear opened its mouth and said, "Sirius, I don't care where the heck you are right now, but you need to  _come home._ There's some complication with Marlene's pregnancy, and we have to get the baby out now or we'll lose her  _and_ Marlene. But your stubborn fiancée won't let us get the baby out if you're not with her.  _So,_   _come home, Sirius."_

Sirius didn't hear what Remus said when he pushed the werewolf off him so he could Apparate to St Mungo's immediately. He didn't even feel the absolute pain coming from his busted leg when he put his weight on it. Everything he could think of was that he needed to get to his Marlene immediately or he'd lose her. When he got to St Mungo's, he practically screamed out to the poor receptionist, asking where his fiancée was. Once he got his answer, he ran as fast as he could to the direction the receptionist told him. He saw Dorcas and another Healer were talking in front of the door where he believed Marlene was, and he just slammed right into the room before Dorcas could say anything. His breath caught in his throat when he saw Marlene screaming on the bed, wearing the usual patient-gown, with five Healers surrounding her. He barely acknowledged Dorcas nudging him aside so she could start the birthing procedure because his eyes were drawn to Marlene's bloody legs.

_There was so much blood…_

"…Sirius? Sirius, do you hear me? SIRIUS!" Dorcas yelled, snapping Sirius' off his thoughts. Whipping his head violent toward his best friend's wife, he found the petite Healer was glaring at him.

"Huh?" he stupidly said. It seemed like all the blood-lost from his head was making him dumb.

" _Go hold her hand, you bloody idiot!"_

"Oh, right!" Snapping back to his sense, all the while ignoring his screaming injuries, he headed toward Marlene and reached for her hand. He didn't flinch when Marlene's grip nearly broke his fingers; too busy trying to soothe the screaming witch.

_She could break every bone in his body if she wanted to._

"Marlene, I'm here. I'm right here, my love. My sweet, sweet Marlene…" Sirius whispered into Marlene ears, using his free hand to stroke Marlene's damp hair. "Everything's going to be alright, Mar. I promise."

" _I need someone to take care of that blood!"_ Dorcas said, slightly panic as she realised the bleeding wasn't stopping and her best friend was getting weaker by the minute.

"Sirius…" Marlene gritted through her teeth, twisting her head around so she could look into her fiancé's beautiful mercurial eyes. "Sirius, I can't lose baby. I can't lose my baby…"

"You're not going to lose her, Mar. She's going to be alright.  _You're_ going to be alright," Sirius said.

"She can't get the baby out by herself, Healer Lupin. She's too weak. She needs – "

_"I bloody well know what she needs!"_ Dorcas snapped impatiently, her wand was getting rather slippery in her hand with Marlene's blood.

_(I will not lose another friend. I will not lose another friend. I will not I will not I will not.)_

Sirius had no idea how long he had been standing there with one hand stroking Marlene's hair while the other was being gripped tightly in the witch's hand. It could be hours, or days –  _he didn't know_. All he knew was that Marlene was losing  _too much_ blood, and if Dorcas didn't get the baby out immediately or stop the bleeding, Sirius would lose Marlene. His left leg was killing him from the uncomfortable position he forced it to have from carrying his weight, and he felt the collar of his shirt got really wet because of the blood from his wounded head. But really, he didn't give a shit. If it meant that he could make sure Marlene was going to be alright, Sirius would very well try to hold on for  _days_ with all his fatal injuries.

"Sirius?" Marlene whispered, barely audible because she had no energy left. The hold she had around Sirius' hand had weakened.

"Yes, my love?" the Pureblood said, giving Marlene a gentle kiss.

"Promise…promise me that if it comes down to choosing between…s-saving me or our baby, you  _have_ to save her."

"Now, Marlene, let's not get ahead of ourselves."

" _Promise me, Sirius."_

Sirius looked at Marlene's brown eyes, finding them to be completely lucid for the first time since he got into the room. This must be the hardest thing he had to do. He couldn't  _possibly_ choose between saving his wife or his child. He just couldn't.

"I- I… Marlene, I…"

An idea struck him. He knew what he had to do. He knew  _exactly_ what he had to do. It was a dangerous bit of magic, very ancient too. He only knew about it during the rare times his parents were rather kind to him, and had told him about their ancestors. However, even Orion and Walburga, who were a huge Dark Magic enthusiast, was extremely against using this particular bit of magic. But for Marlene, he'd do anything for her, even if he had to pay with his life. Marlene  _was_ his life, so he would definitely do it. With renewed strength, he grabbed for his wand in his pocket, aimed it at Marlene's heart, and uttered the incantation of the ancient spell that would allow him to transfer all his strength to Marlene. The moment the last word of the spell left his lips, Sirius instantly felt his energy draining out of him and into Marlene, leaving him really weak and barely holding on. He vaguely heard someone screamed at him, but he couldn't tell who it was because he was slowly losing his consciousness.

The last thing he saw was before passing out was Dorcas pulling a small baby girl from between Marlene's legs.

_And it wasn't moving._

* * *

_"You're an idiot, Draco."_

His Godfather's words still rang in the young Malfoy's ears, even after almost three weeks. Severus Snape was rarely angry toward Draco. In all the years the boy knew the Potion Master, the older man never raised his voice at him. But, that day after he saved  _her_ from getting trampled to death by the troll, that was the first time Snape was angry at him. He didn't yell at Draco; no he didn't. He merely stared at the blond long and hard until Draco squirmed, before he said those words to him. Draco knew he shouldn't have come to talk to  _her_ again after he made it clear to her that he wanted nothing to do with her on that first day after she sought him out during lunch break. But he saw that  _idiot_  Weasley made her cry, and for some reasons, Draco had this urge to check whether she was doing alright or not; whether she needed him to hex Weasle-bee or not. He was sorely disappointed with  _himself_ when he, instead of comforting her,  _insulted_ the poor girl. He called her many names ( _though many times he caught himself nearly saying_ that  _word),_ and she gave a good fight. After awhile, she snapped and yelled back at him, calling him all sort of insults that he wasn't really familiar with but he was sure were Muggle-related. He didn't know how long the both of them were yelling at each other when he felt the ground shook and a loud roar was heard.

"What are you thinking so hard about, Malfoy?" Theodore Nott said as the blue-eyed boy threw himself beside Draco on the leather-couch in the common room.

"Huh…? Oh, I was just reviewing today's Transfiguration lesson," Draco said casually, mentally shrugging all thoughts regarding  _her._

_("Don't make the same mistakes I made, Draco.")_

Theo shook his head in amazement, clicking his tongue in his mouth. "Dear Merlin, Draco… We just had  _dinner_ and you were sitting here, ignoring everyone else,  _reviewing bloody Transfiguration?"_

"Hey, how else am I going to beat the Muggle-born's scores?" Draco said, a bit offended. Yes, he lied to Theo about him reviewing Transfiguration, but he  _did_ like to review about his lessons. There was a reason why he could fight off the trolls all on his own before Potter came after all.

"You and your fixation on her," Theo sighed, rolling his eyes. "I swear, if I didn't know you since we were both babies, I'd have thought you had a crush on her or something."

_("We Slytherins don't do feelings, boy. Feelings are for the fools.")_

"For someone who got third rank in most of our classes, you are rather stupid sometimes, Nott," Draco remarked dryly. Heaving deeply, he reached for a silver-enveloped letter on the coffee desk in front of him and stood up. "Anyway, I bid you  _adieu,_ Theo. Snape wants to see me."

"Say hi to the git for me," Theo said, grinning mischievously. Draco rolled his eyes but said nothing else. He waved goodbye at his oldest friend, and quickly went to Snape's office.

When he got to the front door of the Potion Master's office, Draco didn't enter immediately. He waited until he was sure that Snape wasn't in his office anymore, and only then he went inside, careful not to touch anything lest Snape had put some kind of alarms on his things that would alert him of intruders. He looked at the letter in his hand, which he nicked from  _right_ under McGonagall's nose during her class when the woman was too busy yelling at Finnegan who managed to blow his text book for the third time that week. Draco knew that if he did this, Snape would  _definitely_ kill him if he found out. And if his parents knew about it? Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy loved their son very much, but they weren't above punishing the boy if Draco did something really horrible. But the young Malfoy was a curious child, and at the moment, the letter in his hand was really bugging him out. Knowing that he'd regret it terribly, he pocketed the letter, grabbed a pinch of the Floo-powder before stepping into Snape's fireplace. A thrill went down his spine, his adrenaline was causing his heart to beat really fast. Taking a deep breath, he braced himself and said –

" _St Mungo's!"_

Draco nearly tripped when he landed, but he was quick enough to catch himself from doing so. He stepped out of the fireplace, feeling a bit self-conscious being amongst all those people. Being the Heir to the second oldest Pureblood family in Britain, Draco rarely went anywhere without his parents' company, or at least a House-Elf by his side. He sort of expected one of these Healers would notice him and would interrogate him, asking questions he knew he wouldn't be able to make a quick lie about. Lucky for him though, those Healers were too busy to pay him their attention, bustling around taking care of other patients. Breathing a sigh of relief, Draco made his way to room that was mentioned in the blue letter he had in his pocket. He barely had enough time to hide behind a wall when a man with a cane and thick-bandages wrapped around his head came out from the room the silver-letter mentioned, looking positively livid. Behind him, there was McGonagall and Snape, and also another man who immediately took his stand beside the first man. It didn't take Draco long to figure out who these two men were, seeing that his parents always scowled in indignation every time their pictures were on the Daily Prophet for capturing another Death Eater.

_Sirius Black and Remus Lupin._

"…She was poisoned _, Snivellus!_ " Black yelled, ignoring the reprimanding looks he got from McGonagall and the Healers around him. "You  _promised_  that you would look after my fiancée and Remus' wife during our absence whenever we're on a mission."

"I can't possibly be teaching at  _Hogwarts_ and look after your woman at  _Black Manor,_ you know _._ In case your ability to count is as poor as your ability to choose your friends wisely, both places are almost  _nine-hundred_ kilometres apart," Snap drawled monotonously, which caused Black's anger to escalate extremely.

" _Why, you – "_

"Sirius, shut up," Lupin said quietly but firmly. The handsome Pureblood glared at his best friend, looking like he wanted to argue, but he finally relented. Draco was now under the impression that his mother's cousin was weirdly docile toward Lupin.

After he was sure his best friend wouldn't kill Snape, Lupin turned to McGonagall and said, "Will you Dumbledore that Sirius wouldn't be able to attend the next few meetings? I mean, just look at  _him."_

"I'm perfectly  _fine,_ Moony," Black grumbled, rolling his eyes as he carefully shifted his weight.

McGonagall, who had been silent the whole time, merely scoffed. "Mr Black, you should listen to your best friend. Mrs Lupin told me everything, and you were  _lucky_ that Mr Lupin was around to take your place and helped Miss McKinnon. I mean,  _what were you thinking?_ You were well aware that transferring your spell to a person who was  _dying_ would kill you as well. We were very fortunate that Mr Lupin's  _condition_ allowed him to do the spell to help Miss McKinnon, your baby,  _and_ yourself."

"You do know that I am  _not_ listening, right?" Black said, purposely sticking his fingers into his ears like a stubborn child.

"And you do know that I  _don't_ care," McGonagall snapped right back. Rolling her eyes discreetly, she said to Lupin, "And yes, I'll tell him. I'm sure Dumbledore won't mind. But I think the same goes for you too, Mr Lupin. You go take some time to heal yourself."

"No, I don't think – "

"Remus, shut up," Black said with an evil grin, mimicking Lupin's tone. The other wizard scowled.

"McGonagall is right, Lupin," Snape said, attracting his company's attention once more. "I think it'll be better if you have some rest until you're perfectly healed. We can't have you dropping unconscious during an Order meeting now, can we?"

"See? Even  _Snivellus_ agrees," Black said petulantly. From where he hid, Draco saw Snape clenched his jaw in annoyance.

"Anyway… It's nice to watch you and Lupin bicker like an old married couple, Black. But, unlike  _you,_ I have important roles to keep uphold or else  _someone_ would find out. I have to go back to Hogwarts. Minerva, I suggest the same for you."

Draco didn't see whether McGonagall nodded to Snape's suggestion or not. He had hurried off back toward the elevator so he could get to the fireplace before Snape did. But, before the elevator door closed, Draco could still hear Snape last words.

"And oh, Black? I'd pay Lucius Malfoy a  _visit_ if I were you, regarding… _poison apples_."


	5. FIRST YEAR: New Addition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was a new addition to the Black-Lupin family.

"I brought chocolate cake from your favourite bakery."

"I don't care."

"How long will it take till you finally forgive me?"

"Till I feel like it, which is still unclear. Now give me the cake."

"I thought you weren't going to forgive me."

"You thought correctly. But I  _am_  hungry _,_ so give me the  _goddamn cake, Lupin."_

Remus Lupin sighed heavily and went toward his scowling wife, passing the box of cake when he finally reached Dorcas, who took it wordlessly. They were in their room at Black Manor, feeling completely awkward being the only inhabitants of the huge house, what with Marlene still being cared for at St Mungo's and Sirius simply refusing to leave her side, as well as demanded that he would be there to watch over his newborn daughter. The werewolf watched the petite witch ate her cake silently, letting small moans of appreciation as she slowly devoured the whole content of the box. He debated on whether he should take a seat on the bed beside Dorcas, afraid that the close proximity would make Dorcas lash out, which would definitely lead to her kicking him out of their room. In the end, he knew it would be wiser if he dragged a chair for himself, so he did. They were silent for what seemed like hours. It had been almost a month since the birth of Jade Janis Black, a few days before Harry's arrival for his Christmas holiday. Everyone had recovered rather well, but Dorcas  _still_ refused to talk to Remus after everything.

"I'm sorry," Remus said slowly, reaching out to put his hand on Dorcas' thigh. The Healer purposely shifted away so Remus' hand fell to his side. Letting out another sigh, Remus said, "Dorcas, I said  _I'm sorry."_

"I heard you," Dorcas snapped, but there was a blissful look on her face as she licked the chocolate from her fingers, causing something to stir within Remus.

_("You naughty boy, Moony," Remus' conscience said in a voice that reminded him greatly of Sirius.)_

"Dorcas please," Remus tried again. "How many times should I apologise until you'll finally forgive me? It's been a month, Doe."

"And we all know that you haven't learned your lesson. So, no, I'm not having –  _get_   _your hands off me, Remus John Lupin!"_

Remus had finally lost his patience ( _which was almost unlikely)_ and grabbed Dorcas' face gently so she would finally look at him. The brunette witch glared at her husband, fighting with all her might to push him off her. But Remus stayed put, and was even inching closer. He knew he'd hurt his Dorcas, knew that she was the best thing that he ever had and he couldn't afford to lose her. So, when he noticed the tears started to well up her beautiful blue eyes, Remus pulled her into his arms and hugged her. At first, she kept on fighting against his arms, sinking her much smaller fists into his chest as she screamed at him to release her. Awhile later though, she relented and collapsed weakly into her husband, crying the tears that she had tried to keep at bay for weeks. Remus flinched, but not from the punches Dorcas threw at him. It was because of her tears, and the knowledge that  _he_ was the reason she cried. Remus Lupin always prided himself on being a gentleman when it came to treating his woman, but here he was, making Dorcas cried harder than that time Sirius intentionally cheated on Marlene in their sixth year when he thought he couldn't make Marlene happy what with him being disowned and hadn't a single Knut to his name.

"Why did you have to do it, Remus?" Dorcas said in a small voice, a bit muffled against Remus' chest.

"Because he's my best friend," Remus said almost instantly as he gently stroked Dorcas' hair. "He's the  _only_ friend I've got left, Doe. And I couldn't just stand there, knowing that he'd done something foolish again that could kill him."

" _So do I, Remus!"_ Dorcas exclaimed, finally pushing her face off Remus' chest. "Do you have  _any_ idea what you put me through when you took over Sirius' spell and transferred your energy to Marlene? You heard what McGonagall said; it was only  _luck_ that the wolf in you had enough to spare for you as well."

Remus closed his eyes and swallowed heavily, remembering everything that happened during the birth of little Jade. When Sirius Disapparated away before Remus could stop him, the werewolf wasted no time and went after his best friend. He arrived right on time to see Sirius and Dorcas marched into the room Remus presumed was where they kept Marlene. Knowing that it would be futile if he nosed his way in, he decided that he'd wait outside until someone ( _preferably his wife)_ came out and told him that everything was alright. But, after three hours, no one came out and Marlene's loud screams went weaker and weaker. His heart clenched in fear for his best friend ( _his brother_ ), fearing for Sirius' mental health if the worst was to come. He contemplated on saying a prayer to that Muggle deity his mother worshipped so much, and was barely managing to say the first few words, when he heard Dorcas yelling Sirius' name. He knew right away that his friend was doing something remarkably stupid ( _"Because that's arguably his middle name, Remy," James had said long,_ long  _time ago)._ He then barged into the room, kicking the doors down with the combined-strength from the beast inside him, and found Sirius slowly dropping to his knees, his extended hand was holding his wand, pointing at Marlene. Remus barely had enough time to catch Sirius before he fell and hit his head against the floor. His fingers went to check Sirius' pulse, and he swallowed heavily when he felt how weak it was. Right at that moment, Remus knew  _exactly_ what he had to do. So, before Dorcas could stop him, he transferred his strength to Sirius  _and_ Marlene, determination prevented him from thinking thoroughly about the risks he was endangering himself with. He didn't know for how long he did the spell. But it was like when he blinked for a split second, the next thing he knew he was lying in the hospital bed, feeling like horses just did a Muggle salsa dance in his head. Later, Remus found out that the only reason he could survive from transferring his energy to  _two_ people was because of the wolf in him.

For the first time in his life, Remus was thankful for his  _fury little problem._

"I always know that Sirius  _always_ comes first before me," Dorcas in a small voice, tears still pouring down her beautiful face. "I always know that to you, your best friend is more important than me."

"Dorcas, no – "

" – but it still  _hurts_ whenever I see how you'd sacrifice yourself for him; that you would lay down your life for him, even though you knew you'd be leaving me."

"It's not like that – "

"Remus, shut it. I'm  _tired._ I'm going to bed and if you do too, I'm putting a barrier between my side of the bed and your side. Let's just talk about this tomorrow."

But Remus had enough of waiting.

If Dorcas  _really_ wanted to talk, they'd talk now.

"I want us to talk now," Remus said in the tone he used that one time he got  _so angry_ with Sirius because of the whole thing with Snape. "I don't care if you don't want to listen, but I'll only say this once. Dorcas,  _I love you._ I need you to know that and understand that. And yes, I was an idiot when I sacrificed myself for Sirius, even when I had you. But you have to understand that before you, it had always been me and Sirius, and James when he was still alive but that was then. Sirius isn't just my best friend, he's my  _brother._ I  _love_ him too, Dorcas, though not in the romantic way I love you. What Sirius and I have is…something else, but just as powerful too. So, when it comes to saving Sirius from whatever idiocy he gets himself into, sometimes I just react automatically. The git, just like James did back then, awakens the martyr in everyone."

"Yes, but – "

_"I'm not done, Dorcas."_

The Healer glared at her husband and said, "Fine. Whatever."

Remus flashed her a small smile of amusement, to which Dorcas returned with a colder glare. Rolling his eyes at his wife's childishness, Remus continued. "I understand that you're angry right now at me. I realise I would too if I were you. But know this, Dorcas; remember what I said when I proposed you in front of  _everyone_ during the Order meeting? When you finally came back home after a three-months mission with Emmeline? I told you that – "

_"You are my life, Dorcas Meadowes. Without you, I'm as good as dead. I need you in my life more than what is healthy because you're_ my  _Dorcas. They say I'm a good person, maybe I am. But I am_ not  _selfless when it comes to you. You're the reason I wake up every morning after my transformation, when all I want is to bury myself because I can't stand living with the beast any longer. You're the reason I'm fighting this War, when all I want is to whisk you away and hide in the Arctic. You're the reason I'm kneeling here, in front of you, saying all this sappy stuffs even though I knew my best friends would laugh at me till the end of time. Dorcas, you're_ it  _for me, okay? Before you, I thought I'd die alone in this world, bitter and slowly becoming evil because of the beast. But now, with you in my life, living doesn't seem so bad anymore because somehow, I got lucky and have you to make sure I'm still alive and breathing. So, if it's not much of a bother, will you have me, Dorcas? Will you, as corny as this sound, make me the happiest_ werewolf  _alive, and marry me? Because, my love, you are my – "_

_"_ 'You  _are_  my life'," Dorcas finished before Remus did, whispering those four words softly it felt like a mother's loving caress. Remus' felt hope fluttered in his chest when Dorcas reached for his hand and squeezed it firmly in her hand.

"I love you, Dorcas," Remus said, inching closer toward Dorcas until their lips were barely an inch apart from each other.

"Again," Dorcas said, closing her eyes as a blissful smile took over her face. "Say it again, Remus."

"I love you, Dorcas. I love you, I love you, I love you,  _I love you."_

"And I you, Remus. I love you too,  _my_ werewolf."

"I'm sorry for worrying you. I was an idiot, I know. A total bonafide  _idiot._ "

"I know. And I'm sorry too because it took me this long to forgive you."

"It's okay…" Remus felt Dorcas' lips against his own, and that was when  _it_ hit him. Pushing Dorcas gently, he said, "Dorcas, wait. I… I want to talk about something."

Genuine bafflement crossed Dorcas' face, but she complied. "Oh, okay… What is it?"

"This whole thing of us fighting and our friends nearly dying made me realise that…that we're  _so alone_ in this world. A-and I… And I've decided that I'm ready."

Dorcas' eyes went wide in epic proportion it would have been funny for Remus if it wasn't for the fact of how serious ( _hah!)_ he was at the moment. He heard her breath hitched a little when she said, "Y-you're… You're ready for what?"

"I… I am…" Remus coughed, all the emotion was clogging up his windpipe. But, once he was done retching and gagging ( _way to ruin the moment, Moony),_ he actually felt lighter. He took both of Marlene's hands and smiled with all the love he could muster as he said those words he knew Dorcas had been waiting to hear for  _a long time._

"Dorcas, I'm ready to have a family with you. Our  _own_ family."

* * *

Jade Janis Black was born on November eleventh, eight days after her father's birthday. She was a tad smaller than most newborn babies were, but then again, she was a little early than what was scheduled and she nearly  _died_ because of poisoning _._ Most of the Healers thought that she had little chance to survive. But when her Godmother Dorcas Lupin put her in her father's arms, who barely recovered from the loss of strength and the injuries he suffered from his mission, Jade opened her eyes and began to cry, her small but chubby hands punched Sirius Black's nose, to which prompted the Auror's small chuckle. When Sirius told his best friend about what he was going to name his daughter, Remus teased that he thought Sirius would have named the child something crazy, knowing the eccentric man's antics. But then Sirius explained that his daughter's name meant that she was the _pureness_ that signified the love between Sirius and Marlene, the one perfection in the bleak world they lived, and Remus couldn't even deny the fact that he got even teary. Her middle name came from the legendary singer Janis Joplin, who was Sirius' and Lily's favourite. Originally, Sirius wanted to give the baby Lily's name. But he decided that Harry would probably want to name his  _own_ kid in the future after his courageous and beloved parents.

Little Jade was  _really_ beautiful like her parents were, thought it could be said that she looked more like Sirius than she was like Marlene. She had Sirius' uncanny silver-grey eyes, also his aristocratic nose and cheekbones, something all Blacks seemed to inherit. But she had her mother's lips and chin, and softer features that fit her feminine face. Her black hair was like that of her parents', thought it was a shade lighter like Marlene's hair was, looking a little brownish under the light, while Sirius' hair was so dark it looked almost purple. When Harry Potter was first introduced to the baby once he got home for his Christmas holiday, he was ecstatic. Harry had always wanted to have a little brother or sister to dote on, and he was extremely envious of Ron who had  _tons_ of them. But now, after nearly two weeks, as Harry's own green eyes stared right into Jade's mercurial eyes, he wasn't so ecstatic anymore at the prospect of having a sister.

"May I play Exploding Snaps in the living room?"

"I don't think so, dear. I have some of Jade's stuffs there and I don't them to get messy."

"I promised to meet Hermione in Muggle London. Can you take me there?"

"Dunno, Fawn. It's near Jade's lunch time now. Why don't you ask Moony?"

"I don't understand this. Can you help me with my DADA homework?"

"I'm a little a bit busy watching Jade so she wouldn't swallow anything. Maybe Mar – "

"Sorry, sweetheart. I'm making Jade's food right now."

"Will you play Quidditch with me after breakfast? Just for an hour, I promise."

"Alright, but I need to bathe Jade first, okay? The little monster is a little stinky."

_(Harry waited for nearly two hours for Sirius to come and play with him. And when he was finally resigned to the fact that Sirius wasn't coming, he came back into the house with his Quidditch stuffs and his broom._

_Sirius didn't even realise what he had forgotten.)_

Harry knew he wasn't being fair. He knew how Marlene secretly wanted to have a baby just as much as Dorcas did, the only difference was that Marlene had managed to convince herself that a baby in the midst of War wouldn't be appropriate. Harry himself had even supported her when they first found out that she was with a child, saying that he would look after the baby if Sirius and Marlene weren't able too. He was aware that even  _Sirius_ wanted to have a child as well. He didn't need anyone to tell him about it because Harry, unlike his father was but  _just_ like his mother, was actually very perceptive when he wanted to. He was also very mature compared to most his kids his age, what with him being an orphan and grew up in such difficult circumstances. But Harry was, after all, only a  _child_  himself. That was the fact that his Godparents seemed to always forget. Thus, for him to be a bit jealous of Jade who was showered with endless affection from her parents, that was very normal indeed. Harry rarely over-mourned the death of his parents ( _"How could I mourn someone who I never met?" the boy had once asked his werewolf Godfather.),_ but when he saw how Sirius nuzzled his nose into Jade's onesie-clad belly, or how Marlene read her little girl stories despite the fact that the kid wasn't going to understand a thing, that was when Harry missed his parents  _so much._ He couldn't help but to wonder whether his parents ever did the same thing back when they were alive.

"You're lucky, you know," Harry said to Jade as he lay on his front beside the baby in the living-room, one hand toying mindlessly with the short-strands of Jade's hair. "You're lucky that you have your parents with you, even though the War is still going on around us."

As if she understood him, Jade took her eyes off her little toes and turned to look at Harry. She began to babble, and it sounded like she was saying, " _What do you mean I'm lucky?"_

Maybe Harry was an idiot for thinking that Jade might have tried to communicate with him with her baby-language. But Harry kept on talking anyway. "Yeah, well, I was born when the War was raging on too. I mean, it  _was_ worse than right now, but my parents were very much involved like yours too. But then, I lost my parents.  _That's_ why you're lucky."

_"But I thought you loved my parents and Uncle Rems and Auntie Doe."_

"I do. Really, I love them and I'm forever grateful that they took me in as their own. But, I wish I had my own parents to raise me up. I wish I grew up with my own father teaching me Quidditch instead of my Godfathers. I wish my own mother was there to make me my favourite meal instead of my Godmothers. I know that I had it better than Neville, but still…" Harry sighed heavily, feeling much older than he actually was.

He felt Jade's hand grabbed his ear, as if to tell him to look at her because she had something important to say. Humouring both himself and little Jade, Harry obliged. Jade had lifted her head slightly, tilting it to the side and babbled in her baby-language, which Harry translated to, " _Do you hate me then, Harry? Do you hate me for taking away Mum and Dad from you?"_

Harry gave a small smile to the baby, knowing already, without doubt, of the answer he'd give. He pushed himself off the floor a little bit with his elbows, and craned his neck so he could kiss Jade's chubby cheeks. "Of course not, JJ. Of course not. You're my _sister,_ and that's what matters the most."

_("I feel like you're forgetting me because of your newborn baby, Prongs. And I know, I know that I'm being childish. But it's been you and me all this time. It's_ always _been Padfoot and Prongs.")_

_("And that's never going to change, I promise you. It's always going to be Padfoot and Prongs till the end of time. We just have a new member now, is all.")_


	6. FIRST YEAR: The Sacred Twenty Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There were twenty eight of them.
> 
> Twenty eight of the most prestigious Pureblood families.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, this chapter is just horrible. But I really don't feel like re-writing it again. Oh well, I'm sorry about that. Hopefully, the next chapter will be better :) And thank you for those you have read this story, left comments and kudos too. I really appreciate it :D

Ron Weasley always thought little of himself. He was the spare-son of the  _spare-sons_ in his family. He was none too bright like his brother Bill or Percy, nor was he dazzling like Charlie or the twins Fred and George. His mother, who always wanted a daughter, had always showed a little too much affection toward his younger sister Ginny. The first few years of his life, before he went to Hogwarts, he spent it trying all his might to best his siblings. He tried to be the better son. He studied harder when his parents weren't looking, sneaking to play Quidditch when his brothers were too busy minding their own business, and even sparing sometime to do the meticulous job of primping himself every morning so he would look more presentable. He was reaching the point of desperation that  _no one_ in his family took notice of his hard work, when he found out the one thing that he was  _much_ better than anyone in his family was.

It was chess _,_ and Ronald was a  _brilliant_ chess-player.

And at the moment, his bishop was murdering Harry Potter's king –  _literally_.

"Checkmate," Ron declared with a smirk. "And that marks the  _third_ time in four hours, Potter."

It was a week after New Year, and just a few days till school started again. Harry had managed to convince his Godparents (read: Godmothers) that he would be a good boy for the rest of the year if they'd let Ron to come and spend the rest of the holiday with them. The adults agreed without further coaxing, wordlessly admitting to themselves that Harry needed a friend after living an almost-isolated life before he received his Hogwarts letter.

"Ugh," Harry groaned. "How in the  _world_ could you possibly do that? I haven't been beaten in chess for  _two years,_ except for Sirius because he is abnormally good when it comes to chess."

"Huh," Ron said, tilting his head to his side a bit. He opened his mouth but quickly closed it again, his ears flushed red. It caught Harry's attention.

"What's wrong?"

Ron shook his head. "It's…nothing."

Harry cocked an eye brow. "No, it's definitely something. I've known you for quite some time now for me to understand that when your ear flushes red, that means you're embarrassed about something. So, spit out, Weasley."

Ron gulped, his blue eyes flew toward the door where he was well aware where a certain Black was reading bedtime stories for his daughter. The redhead contemplated on lying, but he was a rotten liar. He had no choice but to tell his friend ( _best friend?)_ the truth. "Well uh… You said Sirius was very good at chess. I couldn't help but to wonder whether – "

"Whether he'd play with your or not so you can find out who's better?" Harry finished for him, grinning. When Ron nodded his head shyly, he was caught off guard when his green-eyed friend laughed evilly.

"Why are you laughing?" Ron asked, looking a bit scared when Harry only laughed harder. "You're not secretly mentally disturbed…right?"

"I'm perfectly sane, Ron," Harry chuckled, finally his laughter stopped though he was still grinning. "I just thought that it'd be a brilliant idea. I mean, Sirius has always bragged about him being the  _best_ chess-player in the bloody  _universe._ Just imagine the look on his face if you actually beat him…"

Then, as if there was a switch, Harry's smile dropped from his face, replaced by a forlorn look on his face. It worried Ron, so being the good friend he was, he asked the other boy. "Harry? You okay?"

"I'm fine," Harry quickly replied, giving a very convincing lie. But Ron Weasley, even though he sucked at lying, he was actually very good at detecting one.

"Mate, you know you can trust me, right? You can tell me whatever it is bothering your mind and I promise I won't tell anyone."

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his eternally-messy hair. "You know Sirius' daughter was just born, right? And I swear, at first, I was really looking forward for her arrival. I even helped the couple to decorate her room. But when she's finally here…"

"You're not so excited anymore," Ron supplied, giving an understanding smile. "I know what you're talking about, Harry. Heck, I've got  _six_ siblings back at home who constantly make me crazy."

"It's not really that, Ron. I…I was jealous of Jade. I  _am_ jealous of her. I mean, I don't mean to be insensitive or vain or anything, but you should know that for years, it's always been  _me._ I've always been the centre of attention. And I don't mean it in a Malfoy-attention-seeking way. What I really meant was – " Harry groaned in frustration, burying his face in his hands. It took him sometime to continue. "What I meant was, I  _miss_ their attention. I miss how Sirius would spend hours playing Quidditch with me, even when he was busy with Auror missions or Sacred Council meetings or the Ord- other things. And I miss how Marlene would take me to the kitchen and how we'd cook dinner together with Dorcas. Sure, I still have Remus and Dorcas. But for how long? I heard they're trying to have their own baby. And when they all have their own kids to take care of, where would I be?"

Ron had no idea what he had to say to Harry's confession. He thought having six siblings and almost non-existent attention from his parents were bad. But now, after he listened to Harry, he realised that he wasn't that unlucky after all. At least, even if he had  _twenty_ other siblings, Ron wouldn't have to worry about whether he'd be cast aside when there were other babies. Harry had it hard. Being adopted, he would forever fear the time when his Godparents got sick of him and wouldn't want him anymore.

"Well, Harry," Ron finally said. "I'm sure your Godparents wouldn't be  _that_ cruel to you. But, if they ever did, just remember that you have me, okay? And Hermione too, I suppose."

The redhead  _swore_ he saw tears welling up Harry's green eyes. But when he tried to have a better look, Harry's eyes were free of tears, though they looked rather shiny. "Thanks, Ron. I really,  _really_ appreciate it. "

Ron grinned and was about to say something when he saw Harry froze at the sound of a loud chime. His eyes went wide as he looked around wildly around the room. Ron was just about to ask what was wrong when Harry pulled a thin piece of fabric from out of nowhere; an Invisibility Cloak. Harry was given the cloak from an anonymous sender, and when he showed the Cloak to Sirius and Remus, the two nearly had a heart attack. They explained that the Cloak used to belong to James, and they thought that the Cloak was lost when James died. Both Marauders said that they suspected the Cloak was with Dumbledore all along, because Sirius recalled in a letter from Lily saying that James was going to show it to the old professor. When Harry showed Ron the Cloak, who promised he wouldn't tell anyone about it, Ron was mesmerised. Being a Pureblood, he grew up with stories of the Cloak, and how a lot of people were obsessed about it. So, when Harry beckoned him to go under the Cloak with him, Ron was having conflicted feelings about it. Part of him wanted to see how could it'd be to have the Cloak around him, another part of him was scared that Harry was up to something not good. Ron was told by Marlene that even though most of the time Harry showed his Remus-side to the whole world, there were times when his Sirius-side ( _hah!)_  would pop, especially when he was feeling particularly mischievous.

In the end, Ron's curiosity won.

"Fine," Ron said. "But if we get caught, I'm blaming all of this on you."

They were just going to get under the Cloak when Dorcas came into the living room, a familiar blonde boy following behind her. Upon the look Dorcas gave him, Harry quickly hid the Cloak under his shirt, creating a huge bump on his front. Ron mentally face-palmed at his friend's stupid move when he caught the blond boy's eye following Harry's hand. Once she was standing in front of Harry, she said, "Boys, you know this is Draco Malfoy. He's here with his father. And I know you two have the same  _stupid_ House-rivalry all Gryffindor and Slytherin have through the years, but I expect you to put that aside and behave, okay? Draco, I expect the same from you."

"Yes, Mrs Lupin," Malfoy muttered, looking at anywhere but the two boys in front of him. Dorcas nodded her head, a small smile appeared on her face.

"Awesome. Now, I'll be with Marlene and Jade, okay? Remus is in there with Sirius. You know the drill, Harry Potter; you may  _not_ come in there."

"Of course, Doe," Harry said with a huge smile. Dorcas gave another smile, along with a hand through Harry's messy-hair, before she headed to Jade's nursery, where the little baby and her mother were waiting for the petite Healer.

Leaving the three boys alone.

Ron eyed the young Malfoy, or more like  _glared_ at him. He knew how Malfoy's father often made fun of Ron's own father in front of other Ministry officials about his love toward Muggle-related stuffs. Arthur Weasley was well-known for his interest in the Muggle world, especially the technology. Most people never really thought about it, but because of Lucius Malfoy's rather big influence on everyone in the Ministry including the Prime Minister himself, Arthur was looked down on by almost all officials. But Ron silently admired the composure Malfoy had as he stared right back at Ron, a mask of indifference on his face. Harry was quick enough to distract Ron's attention when he felt the tension between the two boys.

"Ron, do you still want us to do it?" Harry asked.

"What about him?" Ron said, nodding his head at Malfoy's direction.

Harry turned to look at Malfoy, who shifted his attention from Ron to Harry. Cocking an eye brow, Harry said, "You know what your father is doing in there, right?"

"Yes," Malfoy drawled, scowling a bit at Harry's tone. "Father was taking me… _somewhere_ when your Godfather's Patronus came and summoned him for a meeting immediately. He had no choice but to take me with him because Auror Black insisted there could be no delay."

When Harry had a contemplative look on his face, Ron realised that Harry was  _seriously_ considering on taking Draco with them to spy on the  _so-called_  meeting. If it was up to Ron, he'd probably hit Malfoy in the face until he fell unconscious before locking the insufferable prat in a broom cupboard lest he'd follow them. But Harry was raised rather differently than Ron did. He was raised by two Aurors, whose every move was always calculated and had a certain purpose. From the few months Ron were friends with Harry, he noticed that Harry never did anything if he knew that he'd benefit nothing from it. Ron didn't need to read Harry's mind to know what exactly his friend wanted from Malfoy. Ever since the whole thing with the troll during Halloween, the two boys had accepted Hermione to be a permanent figure in their friendship. Being the good friends that they were, Ron and Harry felt entitled to know  _why_ Malfoy saved Hermione.

"What if I tell you that I can take us to eavesdrop on the meeting if you'll tell me why you were with Hermione when the troll came?" Harry said.

The look on Malfoy's face was hard to read as he looked at Harry with a slight frown. Ron could almost see the battle waging inside the blond, trying to decide whether spilling his secrets to his  _enemies_ was worth it for a chance to eavesdrop on an exclusive meeting the Council had. The redhead thought Malfoy would say no to Harry's offer, when suddenly, the ever-present mask of nonchalance dropped from that pale and pointy face as Malfoy ran a hand through his sleek and pushed-back hair, a tired sigh escaped his lips and only then that Ron noticed the gaunt boy looked even  _more_ gaunt than the last time he was him back at school.

"Truthfully, Potter? I  _don't_ know why I helped Granger. Hell, I don't even know why I went to find her when I heard ginger boy over there made her cry. I just…" Malfoy trailed off, looking lost. Both Gryffindors shared a look with each other before coming with the same conclusion.

_Malfoy had a thing for Hermione._

When Ron first met the brunette bookworm, it'd be a lie to say if he didn't find her interesting. All his life, he'd never met a Muggle-born before. Sure, his parents taught him that there was no such thing as blood purity. But growing all his life secluded from other people, who had no idea that magic existed, Ron couldn't help himself when he found himself intrigued. Here was a girl who had no idea that she was special up until she had her letter, a girl who looked at him, the invincible Ron Weasley, with a look people reserved for their idols and such. It would be a lie if Ron said that he didn't think her a  _bit_ attractive.

"Potter, Weasley," Malfoy's said suddenly, sounding determined. "I can't tell you why I saved Granger because  _I_ don't know either. But believe me when I say that I  _know_  why Auror Black called for a meeting tonight."

It was obvious what Harry and Ron decided on in the end.

The three boys then slid under the Cloak and hastily went toward the room where the Council meeting was held, carefully entering the room lest anyone would find out. The room was still considerately empty, with Sirius and Remus being the only ones present. Both of them were wearing the finest dress-robes Ron had ever seen in his life. Sirius was even wearing a fur-coat over his shoulders, looking every bit like a prestigious Pureblood would. Their eyes widened in absolute horror when they saw Remus frowned at the opened hidden door in the corner of the room behind a shelf by the fireplace when they came in. Harry decided that it would be safer if they got in from the secret passage Harry found connecting the meeting room and Harry's own room, the same door he had used to sneak into the meeting since he was seven, after he was sure that none of his Godparents had any idea of the secret passage. They breathed in relief when Remus' attention was distracted the moment the door to the room was opened, and about twenty people came in, all dressed up in fancy clothes too. It was obvious to Ron that his companions knew everyone who came, seeing that Harry had probably sneaked into this meeting a lot of times in the past, and Malfoy being who he was reason enough. But Ron only knew a few of those people. There was his own father, Arthur Weasley, wearing the best robes Ron had ever seen him wearing. Ron's mother was also there, going as a representative of the Prewett family since her brothers' deaths. There was also Augusta Longbottom, taking over her son's place since Frank Longbottom fell  _mysteriously_ ill years ago. There were other people who Ron supposed he'd seen when he came with his father to the Ministry, but he really had no idea who most of them were. The person that attracted Ron's attention the most was Lucius Malfoy, who casually went to the seat on Sirius' left.

"Welcome, my fellow Sacreds," Sirius said in a voice Ron had never heard during his stay in the Black Manor. It sounded cold and calculated. He took off his coat and draped it over his seat before lowering himself down on it while Remus slid onto the last empty chair on Sirius' right. It was only when the handsome Auror was seated than everyone else took their seats as well.

"According to the Old Rules, other members aren't allowed to sit until the Head Council has taken his seat," Malfoy whispered. "And since it was first established, a member of the Black family was  _always_ the Head Council, what with them being the  _noble and most ancient_  family in all of Britain. So, you can say that until a representative of the Black family is finally sitting down, no one is allowed to sit."

"Do shut up, Malfoy," Harry snapped in a hiss. "If you keep talking, they're going to find out that we're here eavesdropping."

Ron nodded in agreement. "Besides, it's  _scary_ how you went completely Hermione, going all book-smart and explaining the details about the Sacreds to us."

Malfoy glared at Ron. "Well, unlike you Weasley, I  _am_ smart."

"You bloody – "

"Shut up, you two!" Harry reminded, pointing at a dark-skinned man who stared  _right_ at where they were. The three boys held their breaths, afraid that the smallest sound would alert the man. It was very fortunate of them to have Sirius speaking again because the man had no choice but to avert his attention back to Sirius.

"I thank you all for being here," Sirius said, his normally-expressive face was impassive. "I know that this is an unscheduled meeting, but there are some  _important_ matters that need to be addressed as soon as possible."

Sirius was about to continue when a man, who bore striking resemblance to Malfoy's best friend Theodore Nott, opened his mouth. "What the  _hell_ is Lupin doing here? He is not part of the Sacred."

"He is here because  _I_ wanted him to,  _Adrian,"_ Sirius spat coolly, the tone in his voice sent chills down the boys' spine. "Why I want him to attend this meeting is none of your business."

Adrian Nott, father of Theodore Nott and an old friend of Lucius Malfoy, scowled darkly at Sirius. Ron noticed the other Sacred members snickered silently, even Nott's own friend. The look on Sirius' face told everyone enough that he wanted Nott to  _apologise_ to Remus. But before Nott could even consider such a thing, Remus started to speak in his infamous careful and calm way.

"I am here to deliver news that the Ministry wish to  _exterminate_ the Twenty Eight Sacred from its existent," Remus said, his face as impassive as his best friend's. "They know the influence the Council has on other Old Families, and they don't like it."

As if on cue, except for Lucius Malfoy and the dark-skinned man who Ron remembered was named Kingsley Shacklebot,  _all_ the Council members started to speak at the same in anger.

"That is outrageous!" one man, who Harry and Malfoy identified as Yaxley, exclaimed. "The Sacred Council has been around since the time of  _Merlin,_ when there were  _thirty-five_ families involved. There is no waythe Ministry's allowed to do so. I doubt they  _can_ do that."

"Yaxley, you've played a docile kitten to Fudge for too long that you forget the fat bastard is resourceful," Sirius said in a bored tone. "Fudge  _will_ find a way to nose his way into our business."

"What do you suppose our move then, Black?" Shacklebot said. "What are we going to do?"

"Kill Fudge and replace him with someone else?" someone said, receiving a murmur of agreement.

"As much as tempting that idea is, I'll have to say no," Sirius with a small grin. "Remus here says that we need to find leverage, all the dirt on Fudge, so when he comes to attack us, we'll have something to blackmail him with so he'll think twice about what he wants to do. And  _that's_ where you'll come in,  _Lucius_."

The older Malfoy cocked an eye brow. "What do you want me to do, Black?"

An almost feral look took over Sirius' face as he turned painfully slow toward the blond beside him. From where he stood, hidden in the dark, for the first time ever, Ron found the two richest Purebloods looked  _eerily_ similar to one another. It was only then that Ron realised just how closely related the Blacks and the Malfoys were, so much that almost all of them looked like each other. Beside him, judging from the surprised look on their faces', it seemed like Harry and Malfoy had finally realised it as well.

"I want you to write a written-report on  _everything_ you have about Fudge. I want to know everything about him, even the name of his  _bloody cat_. And I am aware of your  _friendship_ with our dear Prime Minister, all your dirty transactions with the greedy bastard. So let me warn you to not  _lie._ If I find out you're lying, and I  _will_ find out about it, I am going to reveal how you  _poisoned_ my fiancee, nearly killing her  _and_ my baby."

Whispers began to explode between the Council members. At the same thing, Lucius' stony face looked vicious as he stared bravely at Sirius. "Careful about what you say, Black. There's no prove of your claim."

"The night my daughter was born, Marlene had a huge portion of apple pie. She had been craving for it for a week, but according to both Marlene and Dorcas, there was no bakery available with ready-to-buy pies. Just when Marlene was going to ask the Elves to make one for her, she found a freshly baked apple pie in the kitchen."

"So? You still can't prove it's got anything to do with me."

"Everyone in British wizarding world  _knows_ that the gardens of Malfoy estate hold a vast land of apple trees. I remember as well back when we were still at Hogwarts, when I was a first year and you were in your fifth, some seventh year idiots teased you for being a  _great_ cook, Lucius. They said that your cooking skills were as legendary as your potion-making. And you were very famous for your  _bloody apple pies."_

Ron felt Malfoy tensed beside him, his grey eyes narrowing at his father, who looked a little paler than his normal colouring, even from where they were. Still, Lucius wasn't backing down so easily. He gave his last ditch at contradicting Sirius and said, "I thank you for your compliments, Black. But I still maintain my previous opinion that you can't pro – "

"You Malfoys wear the  _same_ perfume as we Blacks do, and Dorcas claimed she could smell  _my_ perfume from an  _old_ man who was in the bakery with when she was going to buy the pie for Marlene. And don't tell me it's a coincidence because it's  _not._ It's specifically made for both Blacks and Malfoys, seeing how our families were basically the same twisted clan."

Lucius was at lost for words, and from the way Sirius was smirking, it seemed like he knew Lucius had nothing to say anymore. Finally, the blond man nodded his head, his face was as better mask of nonchalance than the one Ron ever saw on his son's face. Tilting his head to the side in what seemed like a  _bit_  of resentment, Lucius said, "I'll do it. I'll give you the report withing three days time."

"Brilliant," Sirius said, flashing his white, even teeth at everyone else. It made him looked almost feral. "That is all for today, my fellow Sacreds. Council adjourned."

The three boys waited until everyone had cleared out of the room for them to leave. The whole time, Ron noticed that both his best friend and enemy was awfully quiet. When they returned back to the living room, just in time before Dorcas was there to fetch Malfoy, the blond haired boy turned to Harry and said something that Ron thought he'd never say in a million years.

"Potter, you and I may have hated each other since the first time we met," Malfoy said uneasily, looking at everywhere but Harry. "But I want you to know that I am  _sorry_ for what my father did. I am sorry, and I hope Miss McKinnon and her daughter are all right."


	7. FIRST YEAR: Back from the Dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was not how he pictured his life at age thirty.

This was not how he pictured his life at age thirty. Since he was barely a man, he'd always pictured himself a Quidditch player or an Auror or a painter. His parents were always such horrible examples for a child, and ever since he was really young, he'd stopped looking up to them. He promised himself years ago that he'd make a path of his own; that he'd  _never_ follow the demands of his parents. But then, after he saw what they could do to  _blood traitors,_ how they'd think of them no better than Muggle-borns and Squibs, he got scared. He dreaded the prospect of not having anyone by his side. How  _foolish_ he was to think so. How foolish he was to doubt the  _only_ person that he knew would have his back no matter what, even if they hadn't been that close since they both were just children  _(but then again, they were_ just  _children when the war first started)._ When he tried to redeem himself, doing the only good deed he thought would cleanse himself off all his sins, he was prepared that he would die very young. He knew that when he decided to become a coward, all his dreams were going to be wasted. But then he found himself in a Muggle hospital, several weeks after he did his good deed. He was wholly convinced that he'd died and gone to hell, but no, he didn't. He woke up to the sound of a Muggle woman talking to his unconscious-self, unaware that he'd been awake for almost ten minutes until she finally realise he had opened his eyes all along as he listened to her talking. All his life, he'd always thought that Muggles would be hideous creatures. That… _nurse,_ though, she was probably the most beautiful being his eyes had ever laid eyes on.

After she got over her shock  _(and was that joy?)_ of having him awake, she told him how long had it been since he got to the hospital. She said that a group of Muggle campers found him floating by the beach, barely alive because of all the injuries he suffered. The Muggle doctors were skeptical that he'd survive more than an hour after they tried to safe his life, especially with the head injury he suffered, but he did survive, even though he spent  _six weeks_ unconscious. The whole time the nurse talked, only a part of his brain managed to digest what she was saying though. The other part of him was transfixed on her exquisite face. She had thick brown locks with the most stunning pair of blue eyes he'd ever seen. Her skin was so flawless, it made his hand itched to stroke her soft and delicate features, to touch her porcelain-like skin. But her best feature was her lips, and he spent a  _great_ amount of time staring at those red lips of hers when she spoke, too much that she  _should_ be bothered by how rude he was being. He needed not to use a tenth of his brain to know that he'd fallen in  _love_ with the woman in front of him. He'd never been a charmer though, he was always the quiet one in his family. But for her, he'd damn well be a total prince charming, if that meant that she would  _never_ leave his side. So, with great effort, he opened his mouth and said the first thing he'd said since the six weeks he'd been unconscious.

"What's your name?" he'd asked, his voice sounded raspy from the time he was under. His question caught her off guard, and it took her awhile to answer.

By then, he'd mentally slapped himself in the face for making a fool of himself, and was wishing that he could die for  _real_ this time, when he saw her smiling. And  _dear Salazar,_ he felt like he'd seen the face of an angel. He felt her hand on his face, gentle as the wind, as she answered his question.

"Irina. My name is Irina Hooper."

With Irina's help, he was able to fully recover in record's time. It wasn't an easy thing to do, but he did it. True, because of all the horrible injuries, he lost his left leg because of how ruined it was when the Muggles found him, and the doctors had to amputate it. But if it was the cost he had to pay to have his Irina in his life, he'd gladly trade both of his legs  _and_ his hands as well. It was a week before his release from the hospital that he finally told her the truth about himself, and he'd admit that he was afraid that she'd freak out when she learned that he was a wizard. But Irina merely cocked an eye brow and asked him whether he was ready to have his daily therapy, acting just like she always did as if he just told her that it was raining outside. The day he was finally cleared to leave the hospital, he wrote a letter to Gringotts, withdrawing the money he'd stored away before his parents' death under the name Ronan O'Neal via the letter, exchanged it with Muggle money, and used the huge amount of money to settle about his living conditions in the Muggle world,  _and_ to buy a ring to propose Irina with. To say that the woman was shocked would be an understatement, and he had half a mind to take it back, expecting her to say no because of the fact that they'd only known each other properly for only five months. As always though, Irina surprised him when she gave him her angelic smile and said yes to his proposal.

It was simply the  _happiest_ he'd ever felt in all his life.

After all the horrible things he'd done, he was still given another chance.

It had been over a decade since they met, and he only loved her even more. With his marriage to Irina, he'd long discarded his magic, using it only when he  _really_ needed to  _(like that time when he accidentally set the kitchen on fire and had no choice but to use magic to put out the fire)._ Irina kept her job as a nurse, and he became a painter, fulfilling his old dream. Money was rather tight, and he had to admit it frustrated at first that he had significantly less than what he was used to back then in his old life. But it was okay, he didn't care much about money. Though he wished he could give Irina a better life, one that she more than deserved, he knew that what they had was more than enough. His happiness quadrupled when his daughter was born a week after New Year, looking every bit like his lovely wife was. The little girl did have his eyes though, and the moment he had the baby in his arms, he knew that he'd sacrifice his life for her. He named her Astrid Irina because he knew that not only his little girl was beautiful, the girl would prove to be a better person, much  _stronger,_  than he ever was - like her mother. It had been years, he knew that, but he still regretted his past choices. Yes, Irina understood why he did what he did, but in the back of his mind, he knew that there was still  _one person_ that needed explanation from him.

That was why, for the first time in years, he ventured out from his small house that he built with his wife, and went to the Ministry of Magic, using more magic than he had ever allowed himself since he met Irina. With a little spell, he'd managed to get the information he wanted from a clueless intern. A week later, after all the encouraging his wife gave to him, he finally found the courage to do his long-overdue  _task._ So, with his beautiful wife by his side, and his newborn daughter in his wife's arms, he stood in front of the huge gate of the Black Manor, pointing his wand at the Black family-crest on the centre of the gate and sent a spell to alert the people inside of the Manor. He waited with baited breath for the gate to be opened, his hand automatically searched for Irina's ever soothing-one, especially when the gate finally pulled opened by an invincible force – at the same time a man that he hadn't met in almost seventeen years appeared before his eyes. He swallowed heavily when he saw the man's grey eyes landed on him  _(so very much like his own grey ones),_ cold and devoid of emotion they were as he heard his wife beside him gasped loudly. He knew exactly what got the woman so surprised about.

Because Regulus Black really  _did_ look very much like Sirius Black.

* * *

There weren't many things in this world that could catch Sirius off his guard. No matter how much he hated his parents and their horrible teachings, he couldn't help but to be grateful for all the times they taught him to  _always_ have an absolute control. It had helped him a great deal during his adult life, when he was dealing with all those power-hungry Ministry officials or those hardly trust-worthy Sacred members. But when he saw his  _brother_ standing in front of him, looking like he wished the ground would swallow him whole, Sirius thought his heart just stopped. He barely noticed the woman with her baby standing beside Regulus, barely noticed how they held onto each other for dear life. All the Auror could think of was that his  _little baby brother,_ who he thought had been dead for thirteen years, was standing  _right_ in front of him. Shorter than Sirius was, lankier than Sirius was, it really wasRegulus' face that Sirius was staring at. He didn't even realise Remus' presence beside him awhile later, not even when the werewolf let out a small curse under his breath – which was so unlikeRemus, who always made sure he minded everything he said. Sirius had no idea how long he stood staring at Regulus, who stared right back at him, until he felt Remus tapped his shoulder.

"I think it's best for us to get inside," Remus said. "It's freezing out her, and it's bad for the baby."

Both Blacks snapped their eyes onto the baby in the woman's arms, one had a curious look on his face while the other looked worry. The younger of the two picked the baby and brought her against his chest, turned to his brother and said, "Sirius, I promise I'll explain everything to you, but  _please,_ will you let us in?"

Sirius eyes flickered onto the small bundle in his brother's arms, and made a small nod. "Yeah, sure."

With his best friend by his side, Sirius led Regulus and his small family back into the house. Once inside, he Conjured a thick blanket and passed it to the younger Black, who accepted it with a look of the utmost gratitude. Feeling awkward, Sirius turned to his best friend and wordlessly told him to get their partners down into the living room. Remus gave a curt nod and went to fetch Marlene and Dorcas, but not before he told one of the Elves to get their guests something to eat. Once the Elf came with cake and hot chocolate, Sirius waved his hand and gestured for Regulus and his wife to have some. Regulus muttered thanks but he didn't move to take a bite of the cake or a sip of the chocolate. In fact, the only movement in the room came from the Regulus' wife  _(was she really?)_ who carefully drank her hot chocolate, a slight tremor in his hands as her eyes flew to the direction where the Elf just disappeared after it delivered the food. Unable to handle the silence any longer, Sirius cleared his throat and said, "How old is she? Your baby."

"She'll be a month old on February sixth," Regulus answered, shifting a bit in his seat to get a little more comfortable with a baby in his arms. His movement caused his pant-leg to lift a bit, and only then Sirius noticed the metal-leg where Regulus' right leg should have existed.

"What happened to your leg?" Sirius said before he could stop himself. His brother flinched a bit, looking down to his prosthetic leg with a small frown.

"It's a long story," he said, earning a scowl from the Auror.

"Well, I have plenty of time, right now. And you  _did_ come to say something to me, right?" Sirius said, his voice raising even though he was mindful not to wake the baby up. "So, I suggest you to start explaining to me,  _Reggie."_

The use of his childhood pet name seemed to do it, because the next thing Sirius knew, Regulus' story came like a flash flood. "I'd wanted out for a long time before my…'death' _._ I learned about the Dark Lord being a half-blood, and how almost  _everyone_ who joined him became mad with power. I knew I had to get out, but I realised it'd come with a price. I worked hard to find his weakness and tried to destroy it. But I…I nearly died. To be honest, it was always a mystery to me about how I managed to survive after…after trying to fight off hundreds of vicious Inferi. I was found not long after that, floating on the shore of a beach near the cave where I almost died. A group of Muggles brought me to a Muggle hospital, and they had to chop my leg off because of how the Inferi tried to mangle it. Six weeks later, I woke up and learned that after all of my sins, I still had another chance to make everything right. I met my wife Irina at the hospital, and decided that I'd leave the wizarding world once and for all. But when my little Astrid was born, I realised that she'd be a witch, and I didn't want her to be isolated from all that, pretending to be a Muggle until she finally had her letter. So yeah, that was when I decided I'd have to come clean to you."

Sirius had hard time trying to process everything Regulus said. His brothers' words were going on repeat in his mind, and he was sure he looked like a bloody idiot the whole time he tried to have some sort of control on his scattered mind. By the time he finally digested what Regulus said, Remus had come with the ladies into the living room. Both Dorcas and Marlene, who was holding Jade in her arms, let out loud gasps when their eyes landed on Regulus' form. Sirius immediately went to his fiancee's side, guiding the love his life toward where his brother and his family were, the Lupins following behind him. Clearing his throat for the second time that night, Sirius said, "Mar, let me introduce you to my brother and his wife; Regulus and Irina Black. And that little one he's holding is Irina, his daughter. Reggie, meet my fiancee Marlene McKinnon and my little baby Jade."

"Pleasure to meet you, Miss McKinnon," Regulus said politely, offering his free hand to Marlene, who took it with a dazed look on her face.

"And you know Remus, don't you, Reg? The petite woman beside him is his wife, Dorcas," Sirius continued. Regulus nodded his head and went to shake Remus' and Dorcas' hands.

Regulus opened his mouth to say something, but whatever it was he was going to say was cut short when his daughter started to cry, her little fists punching out of the blanket Regulus wrapped her with restlessly. Almost immediately, Regulus' wife  _(she_ was  _his wife, and her name was Irina, you dunderhead)_ transferred the baby into her arms, gently cooing over the crying girl. She grimaced when she felt the baby's forehead, and it didn't take a genius to guess what she felt. Looking at her husband, she worried her lip, before carefully averted her gaze at Sirius.

"Yes?" Sirius said, tilting his head to the side. Irina swallowed but she bravely continued.

"Do you…do you have some place for me to lay Astrid for awhile? I promise it won't be long. I just want to give her something to treat her cold. She's been a little sick since yesterday."

Without looking at Marlene, Sirius said, "Mar, please take Irina here and Astrid to the guest room. And if it's okay with her, will Dorcas check on the baby? Make sure she's okay."

"Of course, Sirius," Marlene said, giving Sirius a small peck on his cheek before she turned to Irina. Giving the blonde a smile, she said, "Follow me, please. We'll make sure you daughter is okay. I believe she's around my Jade's age, right?"

Whatever reply Irina gave Marlene, Sirius had no idea. The three women had disappeared into one of the many guest rooms the Manor had. But Sirius had enough time to observe the woman that had won his brother's heart. Since they were young, Regulus was always the more reserved one between the two of them. In fact, Regulus and their cousin Narcissa were the only quiet Blacks when the younger generation of the Black family gathered together. Sirius himself and Narcissa's sisters Bellatrix and Andromeda were obnoxiously loud like the rest of their family were. He remembered while he was gifted the ability to talk his way out of every situation he got himself in, especially when it came to charming girls off, Regulus was always tongue-tied. But Sirius remembered the small amount of girls Regulus dated back when they were still at Hogwarts, all the petite blondes that tailed after his little brother while Sirius was busy dodging his own hoard of giggling girls. But it wasn't the fact that Irina was a brunette and shorter than Regulus' past girlfriends. It was the fact that the woman seemed to be  _scared_ when she saw the Elf, or when Sirius popped in front of the gates to see who had sounded the alarm.

The woman was a  _Muggle._

"She's a Muggle, isn't she?" Sirius said slowly, his eyes boring holes into his brother's. Regulus made a small nod, his face blushed faintly.

"She is. Irina was the nurse who looked after me back when I was still at the hospital. She was the first person I saw after weeks of being unconscious. And I fell for her the minute I laid eyes on her." He let out a mirthless chuckle before he continued. "Don't you find funny, brother?  _You_ were always the one who hated all of the Pureblood traditions. Mother was always convinced that you'd end up marrying a Muggle. Yet it was  _me,_ who married one."

For the first time since their reunion, Sirius felt himself grin. "The harpy must be rolling in her grave right now, I bet. Along with her husband and the rest of our ancestors."

Both Blacks shared a laugh, but it didn't last long. A serious look took over Regulus' handsome face as he looked at his older brother closely. "Sirius, if you must know, I'm here not only to clear things out with you. I'm here for other purposes."

Sirius instantly sobered up as well and he leaned forward, showing his brother that he was all ears. "What do you need, Reggie?"

Regulus glanced at the door where his wife was with his baby, and let out a small sigh. It wouldn't be a walk in the park, sure, but if he really wanted his daughter to be a part of the world he'd left behind, he  _had_ to do this.

"I want to help you to defeat  _Voldemort,_ and I want to join the Order of the Phoenix."


	8. FIRST YEAR: Three Plus One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Golden Trio was joined by someone in their first adventure.

> _**SIRIUS BLACK'S LONG LOST BROTHER RETURNS** _
> 
> _Everyone in Britain wizarding world knows the story of the Black Brothers. It wasn't a secret that while the oldest, Sirius Black, became an Auror, his little brother Regulus joined Voldemort's Death Eaters. Their former class mates remembered that though they never openly showed hatred toward each other, it was safe to say that the Brothers weren't very close. When Regulus disappeared not long after the announcement of Sirius' engagement to Marlene McKinnon was made, the Heir to the Black fortune gave no comment about it. It was presumed that the younger Black died, though the cause of his death was unknown. Thirteen years after his disappearance, Regulus came back from the 'dead' and went to see his brother. On February 19, both Black brothers held a press conference about his return to a select few of reporters. (continue to page 15)_

Ever since the morning papers came, Harry was ambushed with questions from almost every Gryffindor about the news of Regulus Black's return. The one question that they always asked was whether Regulus was an evil person. The question irked Harry because for one, he hadn't even met the guy so how the hell was he going to answer that? For another, he was getting sick of people nosing into his and his family's problem. Harry understood that technically, his family was probably everyone's hope in defeating Voldemort. But it didn't mean it wasn't annoying when he people asking him constantly about his Godparents, or bloody reporters following him and his family around when they went out to public. Therefore, he was very glad that he had his father's Cloak with him because it helped him to go around the castle unseen. A part of him knew that he shouldn't use the Cloak so carelessly, lest anyone would find out, but he had no choice. At least, Ron and Hermione were willing to cover for him. Being the good friend that they were, not only they didn't pester him with questions, both Ron and Hermione also helped him to get under or out of the Cloak without anyone seeing him. At the moment though, Harry was alone because they had made up a story that they were going to meet him at the library, when actually, Harry was going back to the Common Room. Seeing that it was dinner time, the majority of Hogwarts was either back at their own Common Room or at the Hall having dinner. So, after quite some time of internal debate, Harry took off the Cloak and sort of skipped his way to the Gryffindor Tower.

Except he should have known that being him, nothing  _ever_ went as planned.

_"Potter! Hey, Potter! Potter, wait up!"_

Grunting in exaggeration without turning back, Harry snapped, "Yes, it appears that my Godfather's brother is back. And no, I don't know whether he is evil. I haven't met the guy at all, seeing that he came when I got back here after the holidays. Anything else you want to know?"

"Wow, Scarhead, thank you for the overly detailed information on my mother's cousin that I  _already_ know," the person drawled in a familiar monotone voice that Harry hadn't heard since the holidays back at the home.

"Malfoy," Harry said, finally turning back to look at the blonde wh cocked an eye brow at him.

"Potter," Draco Malfoy replied, his face as devoid of emotion as his tone was. "I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

"About the Sorcerer's Stone."

Harry froze upon hearing Draco's answer.  _No one_  was supposed to know about the Stone – no one  _but_ him and his family. Well, he himself wasn't supposed to know about it. It was only because he was incredibly curious that his Godfathers finally relented in telling him about the Stone. Since the night Voldemort lost his body  _(must_ not _thing about his parents),_ the evil wizard had tried many times to find a way on getting his corporeal form back. It was several years prior, back when Harry was only six, that Dumbledore was alerted to the fact that Voldemort was hunting the Stone. The old man quickly told his friend Nicolas Flamel about Voldemort's plan, and they both agreed that for safekeeping, the Stone should be hidden somewhere Voldemort would  _least_ expect it.  _That_ was how Harry's family was involved. One night, Sirius came back home holding a pouch in his hand, went to the cellar of the Manor, and specifically instructed  _all_ of the Elves to never touch the chest where he kept the pouch. It took a lot of nagging from Harry  _and_ Marlene and Dorcas for Sirius and Remus to tell them what they were hiding in the cellar. Then, the night before Harry would go to Hogwarts, Dumbledore came to the Manor and told Sirius that there were words about Voldemort finding out the location of the Stone was with Sirius. The Headmaster decided that he would keep the Stone at Hogwarts, lest Voldemort would target the inhabitants of the Black Manor. Before Harry went to Hogwarts, both sets of his Godparents warned him explicitly that he was  _not_ to tell anyone about it, or they'd take away his Nimbus 2000.

And now  _Malfoy_  of all people knew about the Stone.

"Who told you about the Stone?" Harry said slowly, eyeing his enemy  _(but was he really?)_ closely.

"No one," Malfoy said solemnly. "I will tell you about it, but we can't talk here. For all I know,  _he_ could have ears everywhere."

"Fine, where do you want to talk about?"

Glancing at the door to the empty class not far from them, Malfoy beckoned Harry to follow him. Once inside, the blond went around the room, as if to make sure there would be no chance of anyone overhearing their conversation. He made a small nod to himself when he was satisfied with his assessment, before turning his attention to Harry. He let out a heavy sigh, his cheeks puffing out a little like chimpmunks, and for the first time since Harry knew the Slytherin, only then that he realised how the both of them were  _only children._

"I know your Godfather used to have the Stone with him back at your home," Malfoy started. "I know about it because my  _father_ followed him to your cellar when he was at Black Manor. Auror Black was terribly hurt back then, hence why he didn't realise my father was there. It if weren't because of it, it would be impossible to do that."

Harry remembered that day. He was ten years old, and Sirius came back home with nasty wound under his right ribs and was helped by  _Lucius Malfoy._ He just got back from a Sacred meeting that was held in Dundee, at one of the many properties Sirius had, and he was attacked by some Death Eaters on the way back. Marlene was so sure that it was  _Lucius_ who had attacked Sirius, and if it wasn't because of Sirius himself who convinced them otherwise, his Godmother would have probably killed Lucius right then and there. Sirius didn't wait until Dorcas had properly healed his wounds when he dashed off to the cellar. Later, when Harry was eavesdropping on Sirius' conversation with Remus, he found out that the Death Eaters that attacked him had mentioned the Stone and how they'd never hesitate on hurting his  _family_ to get it.

"Did your father tell you about the Stone?" Harry asked. He couldn't help the little grin on his face when Malfoy scoffed and pouted petulantly like the child they all were.

"Of course not," Malfoy huffed. "I had to sneak into his study to listen on the conversation he had with my mother… But, anyway, now that I've answered your question, I'm going to tell you what I just overheard yesterday between Snape and Quirrel."

Harry blinked. He had never liked the Potions Master, and he'd always known for a long time from Sirius that Quirrel was  _not_ to be trusted. He knew that Snape  _hated_ his father because he  _loved_ his mother  _(fate was so funny)_ But, before he could make accusations against Snape, Malfoy had continued hastily. "It's not Snape, Potter. Trust me, it's not him. Snape tried to scare Quirrel, I swear."

"How can you be so sure?" Harry said sceptically, crossing his arms together.

Malfoy was silent for a moment, tilting his head to the side in a way that was so familiar to Harry. It took him awhile to realise that he'd seen the gesture on  _Sirius_ many times. Running a hand through his platinum locks, he said, "You may  _not_ tell anyone this, not even your Godparents, but Severus Snape is my  _Godfather_. There are things he's told me about himself, and I can't tell you about it. But believe me when I say that there are some days when I trust the man  _more_ than I do my father."

There was something from the way Malfoy talked that made Harry believed him; like what happened back during the holidays. In the back of his mind, Harry recalled the lone white tulip Marlene found in Sirius' office, along with a small note that said ' _sorry for what he did'_ in an elegant hand-writing that looked much too familiar in Harry's eyes. Looking at the blond in front of him, Harry felt a sense of  _something_ other than the usual hatred he felt toward Malfoy. It was almost felt like  _gratitude_ , along with something else, especially when he remembered that the boy had  _saved_  his best friend after all. He supposed it wouldn't take long for him to finally be more civil toward Malfoy after all the Slytherin had done.

_(Harry tried hard not to imagine the blush on Hermione's face whenever he caught her eyeing the blond.)_

"What did you hear from Snape?" Harry said. "I presume Quirrel's the villain here, since we're definitely ruling out Snape. So, what's the loon going to do?"

"I think he's going to try to steal the Stone tonight."

"Why tonight?"

"Because, from what McGonagall told me this morning when I tried to see Dumbledore, our dear Headmaster is not at school."

* * *

_"What is that git doing with you?"_

Hermione was about to reprimand Ron for talking  _really_ loudly in the library, when she saw who was with Harry. She had begun to consider glasses for herself because it  _couldn't_ be Draco Malfoy walking beside her best friend. What shocked her even more was the fact that both boys looked pretty civil, both of their wands were peacefully tucked inside their pockets. Ever since her first day at Hogwarts, Hermione had witnessed Harry and Malfoy going at each other with worrying consistency. It was like every morning, all they could think about was to either yell names at each other, or to initiate amateur duel. So, in the end, she kept herself from reprimanding Ron's loudness because she too was shocked to see what she saw.

"Malfoy's going to tell us about something," Harry said shortly, nodding at the Pureblood to continue. She felt him threw a vague glance at herself, before he launched into explanation.

He took fifteen minutes to relay what he just told Harry, and the whole time, Hermione couldn't stop herself from staring like a foolish girl. The boy was such an odd mystery. Ever since he saved her from the troll, he had stopped teasing her. In fact, he'd avoided her all together. When they were unfortunate enough and were paired together for school work, he kept his conversation to a minimum. Hermione had always wondered  _why_ the Slytherin was acting so weird. She remembered the boys telling her about the time Malfoy came to Harry's home; how he looked  _so lost_ when Ron questioned him why he saved Hermione, how he looked so guilty at the revelation of his father poisoning Harry's Godmother. According to a lot of people, the Malfoys functioned rather like a robot. Ron had many times remarked that they didn't have a heart, and as a result, the Malfoys were also incapable of feeling. But what Malfoy did was the exact opposite of what everyone always said about him and his family.

And now he was going to help them save the day _._

At first, Hermione straight out refused to join Harry and his plan to stop Quirrel. But it was because of her curiosity and thirst of knowledge that got her after hearing Malfoy mentioned the Sorcerer's Stone. Hermione had read about it in one of the books she borrowed in the library for a little bit of light reading ( _"Shut up, Ronald," she spat when Ron gave her a funny look.)._ So, against her better judgement, just an hour before midnight, she waited for Harry and Ron in front of the girl's dormitory. When the boys finally came out, they wasted no time and headed out of the Common Room, where they knew Malfoy had been waiting for them. Unfortunately for them though, there was already someone else waiting for them with Malfoy.

"Neville?" Hermione called, carefully taking a step toward her first friend at Hogwarts ( _Malfoy didn't count, Mione.)._

"Hermione!" he exclaimed, sounding a great deal relieved. He was aiming his wand at Malfoy, who merely cocked an eye brow at the other boy. "Oh, thank Merlin you guys are here! We have to report Malfoy to a professor. I was looking for Trevor in the Common Room when I heard him harassing the Fat Lady."

" _I_ was harassing the fat pig?" Malfoy spat, ignoring the shouts of indignant coming from the Fat Lady herself. "You got it all wrong, Longbottom.  _She_ was the one who started yelling when I merely stood here waiting for your idiot  _friends."_

Malfoy's respond seemed to shock Neville because the boy actually looked away Malfoy and turned to his fellow Gryffindors. He set his eyes on Harry first, those eyes asking for explanation from the green-eyed boy. Sighing, Hermione noticed Harry discreetly reached for his wand as he said, "I'm really sorry for this, Neville, but I have to do this."

"Do wha – "

" _Petrificus Totalus!"_

"Harry!" Hermione reprimanded her friend. "I can't  _believe_ you just attacked Neville!"

Before Harry could defend himself though, it was Malfoy who spoke in his defence. "Granger, you  _know_ Potter's got no choice. We have to stop Quirrel before it's too late, and Longbottom there is stalling us. Now, why don't you put away your guilt and get going?"

She knew that the blond was right. But, even as she followed them all to the third floor, where Dumbledore had warned them to stay away from, she couldn't shake the look on Neville's face upon realising that Harry had just attacked him. She tried to shrug it aside though, aware that she needed to focus. It was right on time for her to focus her thoughts because, when the four of them got into the secret door they saw Filch spent hours standing in front of, they were met with the sight of Hogwarts' own Cerberus. Lucky for them though, because the three-headed-dog was asleep, thanks to the harp playing not far from the beast. They saw the opened trap-door and quickly jumped inside, sliding all the way on the longest ride of slide Hermione had ever went on in her life, and landed on top of something hard and slippery. It looked like gigantic roots with the colour as dark as tar, and it went  _all_ over the dungeon where they landed.

"Good thing there's good cushioning down here," Ron said with a small smile. Hermione was about to agree when she heard both Harry and Malfoy yelped.

"Bloody hell, this is not good," Harry muttered, his green-eyes were wide opened as he looked around. Beside her, Malfoy nodded his head urgently.

"Granger, quick; make a bright light," Malfoy commanded as he got his own wand out of his pocket. And  _of course,_ it offended Hermione.

" _Excuse me?"_ she said, her tone a tad higher than its usual pitch. "Who do you think you are, ordering me around, you arrogant – "

Hermione's breath hitched in her throat when she felt the branches around her started to wrap tightly around legs. Warning bells rang in her head, and she soon recognised that they had landed on top of a lair of Devil's Snare. She felt her brain whirring fast in her head, trying to remember the spell on creating a bright light like Malfoy said because starting a fire would just kill them all. The incantation left her mouth at the same time it left Malfoy's, and the next thing she knew, they fell through the Snares and onto a hard concrete floor. Quite comically, Harry landed on top of Ron, who grunted in both pain and annoyance. Hermione would have laughed if she could, but she herself had a rather hard landing and would have lost her footing if it wasn't for the hand catching her from falling. Her heart froze when she realised whose hand it was. She didn't have to look back to know that it was  _Malfoy's_ hand on her shoulder.

"You okay?" Malfoy said softly,  _so_ unlike the boy who had teased all those months ago, who had yelled Harry kinds of names.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Hermione quickly said, unintentionally pushing his hand off her. She tried hard not to flinch at the hurt look that crossed his pale face.

"Hey, Malfoy," Harry called, his head poking from behind a wall. "Come and check this out."

"Alright," the blond answered curtly and walked ahead of Hermione to where Harry was.

As she got to where her friends were, she heard a thousand fluttering of wings before she saw the bird. But later, she realised that they weren't birds. They were actually keys –  _hundreds_ of them. In the middle of the room, not very far from where they were standing, there was a broom floating, as if ready to be ridden. Hermione didn't have to be the genius that she was to know that their next task was to go get the right key so they could open the door just across the room. The problem would be to determine which key was the right one. Much to everyone's surprise, it was actually Ron who pointed out that the right key must be the only silver key with the broken wing,  _definitely_  because it was just gripped tightly as it was used. Harry didn't waste time and got on the broom so he could get the key. It took him flying all around the room for quite sometime, chased by the other keys, until he finally got the key. He then threw it into Malfoy's hand so he could open the door. The other keys were flying after Harry like angry birds, and went they slammed the door right behind Harry after he got in, the sound of the thousand keys against the door reminded Hermione of machine gun.

"That was brilliant, Harry," Ron panted, a little out of breath like the rest of them was. "Good thing you were the youngest Seeker for nothing. Those keys were going to  _kill_  us!"

"Thanks, Ron," Harry said with a smile. Clapping a hand on his friend's back, he said, "Come on. We still haven't found Quirrel."

They continued their journey with Harry on the front and Malfoy on the back while Ron and Hermione on the sides. Hermione couldn't help but to feel as if that would be their assigned battle positions. She looked at the three boys and realised that the four of them completed each other as a group. Looking at Harry, she wondered briefly whether the late James Potter had the same determined look on his face like his son did. After a few minutes of walking, they got into a huge chamber where the torches around them quickly began to lit one by one. The moment the last torch was lit, her eyes widened slightly at the life-sized chess pieces around them, set as if they were ready to be played. Glancing at Ron, she noticed, for the first time since they got under the trap-door, there was a small glint in Ron's blue eyes. It was obvious that Ron was excited, seeing that this was something of his expertise. He then asked one of the black knights standing not far for him whether they had to join and became chess piece to cross the chamber. When the knight nodded, a contemplative look crossed his freckled-face.

"Hm, I see…" Turning to Malfoy with a small frown, he said, "You can play chess, right? And rather good at that, according to your mates."

"Weasley, I'm not going against you today," Malfoy said. "Yes, I can play chess, and maybe I'm rather good. But I'll leave this to you. Do whatever you thing is best."

The look of gratitude on Ron's face was so genuine, Hermione couldn't help herself but to grin along with Ron. Nodding his head, the readhead said, "Alright, then. Well, Harry, you take the bishop's place. Hermione, you're rook. And Malfoy, you're the queen."

When Harry and Ron snorted a laugh, Malfoy scowled and said, "Oh ha ha, very funny, Ginger Weasel. I'm starting to regret my decision now."

"Hush up, Malfoy," Hermione said, sensing an upcoming argument. She was expecting the blond to argue her, and was completely caught of guard when he merely  _pouted._

"Sorry for that, Malfoy. But I expect you to be a better player than Harry. So, if it turns out I fail, you'll have to take my place," Ron said, his tone was serious this time.

"What are you going to be then?" Harry asked. Ron shrugged and stepped toward the horse piece.

"I'm going to be a knight," Ron answered. It seemed like the pieces heard what he said because the bishop, the rook, the knight and the queen they were replacing quickly moved out of the board. "Right, everything's set. White always goes first. Yeah…"

A white pawn took two steps forward. Ron began to move around other pawns, and they all moved just like he told them to. Hermione was suddenly struck with the realisation that in Wizard's Chess, the losing pieces weren't only tossed aside like the Muggle chess she used to play with back at home. No, in Wizard's Chess, they  _bludgeoned_ the losing piece to smithereens. A cold shiver of fear trail down her spine at the thought. What if they  _lost?_  And when she got a look on the three boys' faces, all of them who were better chess players than she was, she knew that they thought about the same thing. Their first hit was when the remaining black knight was literally slain by the white queen, and Hermione noticed how her companions looked pretty shaken up. She lost count how many times she screamed when the black pieces of their side were destroyed, especially when she saw a pawn was thrown aside violently and nearly knocked Malfoy. From where she was standing, she realised that Ron was trying his best not to move them around too much, for fear that the white pieces would target them. Malfoy, being the queen, he was the one who was targeted many times, and a lot of times the blond had to crouch when other pieces Ron had placed to protect him was taken out. It was several minutes after the other black rook was knocked by the last remaining white knight, that Malfoy, who had been silent the whole time, lost in his own thoughts even when he nearly got killed by the flying debris, finally made a sound.

"Don't do it, Weasley!" Malfoy yelled. "I know what you're planning to do.  _Don't do it."_

"Oh no…" Harry muttered, seeming like he finally followed on Ron's plan. "He's right, Ron. Please, don't do it."

"Do what?" Hermione insisted, confused. "What he's planning to do?"

"He's going to sacrifice himself," Malfoy said stiffly. Hermione's eyes widened in epic proportions.

"Ron, that is insane!" she said. "You cannot – "

"Do you want to stop Quirrel or not?" Ron snapped impatiently. "This has to be done, Hermione."

"Yes, but there must be another – "

"No, there isn't," Ron interjected. "They have to get me, or they will get Malfoy. And trust me Hermione, when they get Malfoy, they  _will_  win."

"But – "

"Malfoy, once I'm done, you're free to checkmate the king. And no more arguing about this with me. We don't have anymore time."

"Okay then," Harry said in the end in a strong voice, but there was no hiding the slight shaking in his right hand. "Malfoy, you heard him.  _Don't_ do anything stupid."

Malfoy nodded his head to both boys. Satisfied, Ron turned his attention to the white queen. He took a deep breath, and began to walk toward it. When the queen hit Ron's head  _really_ hard, Hermione had half a mind to go after him. But she realised they were still playing, so she kept herself still and set her eyes on Ron, hoping that the blow wasn't hard enough to cause permanent damage. Then she heard Malfoy took a step forward, and another, and another, and  _another,_ until he was standing right in front of the king. Letting out a shuddering breath but yet managing a voice that was loud and clear, the blond said, "Checkmate."

The white king threw its crown at Malfoy's feet. They had won. All at once, the rest of the pieces gave them a bow before stepping away from the board and headed toward the door that was no longer guarded. Being the closest, Malfoy was the first one who reached Ron even before Harry or Hermione. Putting a finger on Ron's pulse point, Malfoy sighed in relief, which meant a good sign to Hermione. He then proceed on checking Ron's head for any possible head wound. He found none, and again, he breathed in relief.

"He's alright," Malfoy said. "But we do have to go now though. Quirrel might have gotten the Stone by now."

"I'll stay with him," Hermione said out of the blue. "I just… I don't feel right leaving him alone here."

"Alright, we'll go then," Harry said, giving her a grateful smile. Hermione knew that he too didn't want to leave Ron all alone. "Come on, then, Malfoy. It's just you and me."

Hermione watched the two boys, polar opposites of each other, walked side by side to stop evil from winning. She could hear their voices arguing though, and she assumed they weren't that far. She was just trying to move Ron to somewhere saver, when she heard a loud  _familiar_ roar that still haunted her dreams. Her heart felt like stopping, especially when there were loud shouts coming from both Harry and Malfoy. Her whole body was trembling as she held onto Ron's unconscious form, praying so bad that the  _troll_  wasn't coming to get her. The grounds around her felt like shaking, and she heard unmistakable snaps of spells whipping out from wands. Then, what she heard next, was sure to traumatise her for at least the next few months to come.

_"Potter, move out of the way!"_

_"Malfoy, no!"_

Hermione let out a scream when she saw Malfoy  _flying_ across the room, colliding against the wall rather violently. She had no idea which one was her voice and which one was Harry's when she saw the troll advancing toward Malfoy. Before she could realise what she was doing, she had left Ron and was running toward the Pureblood, yelling for him to wake up. It was almost impossible for her to believe it, but Malfoy  _did_ wake up. Groggily but with determination flaring in his grey eyes, he stood up and looked defiantly at the troll. Pointing his wand at the high ceiling, he yelled the last spell Hermione expected him to say.

_"Bombarda!"_

_"Draco!_


	9. FIRST: We Need to Talk about Draco

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco was not a good person. He really was not.
> 
> But she made him one.

There was nothing in this world that Dorcas cared more than her family. She loved them so much and couldn't imagine a life without them. She thought that being a member of the Order of the Phoenix should have prepared her for all the lost she might suffered. She was wrong. If anything, she was living in constant fear that one day, there would come a time when she lost everything. Working as Healer didn't mean she was as oblivious of the War like people often thought. No, every day, she would find at least one casualty of the War. Most of the time, they were Aurors. But when a young child, who probably hadn't set foot on Hogwarts yet,  _died_ in an ambush, it broke Dorcas' heart. That was why when McGonagall told her to come because Harry was hurt, she felt like her whole world had collapsed. She barely remembered Flooing to Hogwarts when she appeared in McGonagall's office. All she had in mind was that she  _had_ to get to Harry immediately. True, she wasn't his biological mother, nor was she his legal guardian. But he  _still_ was her son – her  _baby._ Tearing down to Hospital Wing, she practically pushed Madam Pomfrey aside so she could tend to her boy.

According to what Dumbledore told her, Harry's pure and innocent magic was the reason why he could defeat Quirrel and his dastardly intentions. But, it came with a cost. By the time Dumbledore got there to help him, Harry's core magic was nearly sapped dry, and he was  _really_ close to dying. When Dorcas finally saw Harry, she was part-annoyed and part-relieved that Snape had gotten there first to help Harry, administering potions that would replenish his magic. She was thankful that Snape was there to save Harry, seeing that if they were a little too late, Harry would have died. She couldn't deny the fact that she wanted  _her_ to be the one who saved Harry though. But she wasn't stupid. She knew that she couldn't be selfish for the good of her boy. So, she decided to make herself useful, and looked to the other two boys that resided the empty beds at Hospital Wing. The first boy was Ron Weasley, son of Arthur and Molly Weasley, who were a few years her senior. It was the other boy though, the one who was lying right next to Harry, that made her breath hitched.

_Draco Malfoy._

The young boy, who always reminded everyone greatly of his father with his mask of indifference and cold smirk, was lying broken on the bed that looked much to big for him. His skin that was a few shades lighter than most people, looked almost translucent. Blood was soaking his platinum hair, and even though he was unconscious, his face was twisted in pain. Standing by his bed side across Madam Pomfrey, was a young girl about Harry's age with crazy curls. After listening to Harry's stories, the Healer knew that the girl could only be her boy's best friend, the brilliant Muggle born Hermione Granger. The girl was throwing worried glances on the three unconscious boys, but when Dorcas looked closely, she saw that the girl was holding little Malfoy's hand tightly in hers. It baffled the petite Healer greatly, that she nearly didn't hear Snape calling her name.

"…will you have a look at him, Lupin?" Snape said in his usual drawl.

"What?" Dorcas said, finally taking her attention from the two kids. She looked right into Snape's dark eyes, and found the slightest bit of emotion there.

Was that  _fear_ she saw in those unfeeling orbs of his?

"I'm going to get some potions from my office. In the mean time, will check you Mr Malfoy's condition and see the extension of his injuries?" Snape asked.

"Of course," Dorcas said. Even without Snape asking, her profession wouldn't allow her to just ignore the poor boy. Heading toward Draco, she quickly whipped her wand and used her spell to scan through his injuries.

"And oh, Lupin?" Snape said before leaving. "Your boy is alright. It will take him a few days to wake up, but otherwise, he's fine."

Dorcas let out a huge breath of relief that she wasn't aware she had been keeping. Flashing the ex-Death Eater a small smile, she said, "Thank you, Snape. Thank you."

With a curt nod of his head, Snape was gone.

"Miss Granger?" Dorcas said, causing the girl to jump a bit. "Will you step aside for a moment? I need to take a look at young Mr Malfoy here. In the mean time, you can tell Madam Pomfrey what happened to Mr Malfoy, okay?"

"Y-yes, Healer Lupin," the girl said. She looked at the hand she was holding, and judging from the blush on her face, it seemed like she hadn't noticed what she had been doing.

As Dorcas began her examination on the blond, she kept one ear to Hermione's explanation. The girl said that after they defeated the chess set, which rendered Ron unconscious but otherwise unharmed, Hermione decided that she would stay and look after her ginger friend, leaving Harry and Draco to proceed all by themselves. She heard both boys arguing about which potion to take to help them crossed Snape's fire, when she heard the loud roar of the troll. Dorcas remembered the whole thing during the Halloween feast, and she perfectly understood when the girl admitted she froze upon hearing it. Hermione then continued her story, saying that she heard both Harry and Draco trying their best to protect themselves from the raging troll. Then she heard Draco yelled, followed by Harry's own voice. The next thing she knew, Hermione saw Draco flying across the room. That was when the brilliant girl snapped off her frozen stupor and quickly headed off toward the blond to help. She yelled for him to wake up, and he miraculously did wake up. There was blood trickling down the side of his head before he lifted his wand up on the ceiling and made the ceiling dropped on the troll  _and_ himself, effectively protecting everyone yet endangering himself. Hermione thought the boy was a goner, even when Dumbledore came to the rescue and literally pulled Draco out of the huge rocks that had collapsed on him and the troll.

"Will he be alright, Healer Lupin?" Hermione said in a small voice. Dorcas had finished patching up the Slytherin, and Hermione was looking worriedly at the blonde.

"He lost quite a lot of blood, and the process of mending his broken bones won't be easy. But, yeah, I suppose he'll be alright," Dorcas said, giving the young girl a reassuring smile. "Now, I'm going to take care of Harry and Ron, okay? I trust you can take care of Draco, yes? And I need you to come get me in around…fifteen minutes so I can ask Professor Snape for the potions."

"Okay," Hermione said, taking back her position by Draco's bed. She shoved her hands into her pockets, as if she needed to stop herself from reaching out for the blond's hand. Dorcas was on her way to check on Ron when she heard noises out side of the hospital.

"Dorcas? Dorcas, are you in there with Harry? Doe, is he okay?"

"Oh, dear Merlin. Lucius, I'm worried about Draco."

"WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME THAT  _MY_  GODSON WAS IN DANGER? I HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW!"

"Oh, shut up, Black. You're not the only one who's worried about his boy. My  _son_ is hurt too, you know, and it's all your  _godson's_ fault."

"Cissy, put a leash on your husband, will you? He's starting to get on my last damn nerve."

"Padfoot, behave. And I suggest the same for you too, Lucius."

The door to the Hospital Wing was thrown opened, revealing five newcomers to Dorcas's eyes. There was her husband standing beside his best friend. Marlene was standing on Sirius' other side, little Jade was obviously left with Regulus and his wife. Next to Remus were the Malfoys, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. While Lucius was a frequent visitor to the Black Manor because of the Sacred meetings, it had been over a  _decade_ since the last time Dorcas saw Lady Malfoy. She had never thought about it before, but now that she saw them in one room, only then that she did remember that Sirius was first cousins with Narcissa. It was easy to forget that her best friend was related to the crazies. When both Malfoys found their son's figure lying on the bed, Dorcas was glad that she was done treating most of the boy's injuries, leaving the little bruises that she thought was better to heal naturally. Judging from the look on their faces, no doubt they wouldn't be too pleased to find their beloved son's bleeding and bruised up.

"Miss Granger," Dorcas said in a small voice, her hand reaching to tap on Hermione's shoulder softly. "I think it's better for you to leave. You can visit your friends tomorrow."

Eyes wide as she threw a scared glance at the Malfoys, Hermione nodded her head and quickly left the room. Dorcas noticed how Remus made a swift move and placed himself between Hermione and Lucius when the young Gryffindor walked past the older Malfoy. It was very fortunate that Lucius' attention was all set on his son, even when his wife had a frown on her face as she watched Hermione's retreating form. With great fascination, Dorcas noticed that even though the Malfoys were popular for being evil, it was obvious that the couple cared a great deal about their son. But, the thought was soon forgotten when Sirius pushed past everyone else so he could get to Harry, his wand was already in his hand so he could check on his Godson.

"He's alright, Sirius," Dorcas said before the question could leave the Auror's mouth. Turning to everyone else in the room, she continued. "They are  _all_ alright. We put them to sleep so that they can heal properly without being interrupted."

"Oh, thank Merlin," Marlene sighed. "Dumbledore told us everything, and it got me so worried. I mean, they fought a  _troll_ by themselves."

"The kid is  _definitely_ his father's son," Sirius scoffed fondly as he stroke Harry's hair. "Stupid Potters and their bloody hero-complex."

"Where's Arthur and Molly?" Remus asked. "I thought they'd be here too."

"Arthur was out on a raid when Dumbledore came to tell them about the news. And Molly was taking their youngest Ginny to St Mungo's because the poor girl had the flu. But he sent them a Patronus and they said they'd be here by noon," Dorcas explained. Remus nodded his head as a respond but said nothing else. It was silent for a few minutes until Narcissa spoke.

"You saved my boy, didn't you, Healer Lupin?" Narcissa said, her voice small as she gently caressed her son's pale skin.

"I tried my best," Dorcas said carefully. She was taken aback when the older witch smiled.

"Thank you. We just saw Snape and he told us everything. If it weren't because of you…" Narcissa trailed and resumed on caring for her son to hide her emotions.

"Dumbledore has crossed the line," Lucius snarled, his fair features had gone feral in anger. "Three-headed dog, Devil's Snare, enchanted chess set and a troll kept in a  _school?_ I find it amazing that there hadn't been any accidents sooner."

"What I don't get is  _how_ these kids could find out about Quirrel going after the Stone," Remus said. "I mean, yes, I'll admit that Harry's aware that the Stone is here at Hogwarts. But for him to suspect that there was someone who wanted the Stone, and that someone was  _Quirrel,_ I wonder how he found out about it."

"It's Malfoy," a small voice said from the bed on Draco's left. All of the adults' eyes were instantly set on the young redhead who had just woken up. Groaning weakly, Ron Weasley opened his eyes and looked around the room. "My parents aren't here yet?" There was a brief disappointment in his eyes, and Dorcas' maternal instincts flared in an instant as she quickly went to his side with a glass of water.

"They'll be here very soon, dear," Dorcas said, offering the boy a smile as she helped him to drink. "Don't worry about it... Here, have a drink. You must be thirsty."

The ginger looked both pleased and embarrassed, but said nothing else as he obliged to Dorcas.

"Ron, can you tell us what did you just mean?" Sirius said after the boy had his drink. Ron looked confused for awhile, before realisation dawned on him.

"Oh… Well, last night, Malfoy – I mean,  _Draco,_ " Ron quickly amended, his blue eyes landed on Lucius' unfeeling features for a split second before he looked back to Sirius. "Draco came to Harry and he told him that he overheard Snape and Quirrel talking. According to him, Snape was trying to scare of Quirrel from stealing the Stone. And Harry being Harry, decided that it would be best if  _we_ went to stop Quirrel ourselves because Dumbledore was away."

"You all never thought of telling a teacher about this?" Remus asked. Dorcas glared at her husband when she saw the boy's ears flushed red.

"We uh… It never crossed our minds, Auror Lupin, because um… We were under the impression that the teachers wouldn't believe if we told them we suspected their colleague of being evil."

"Fair point," Marlene said. She flashed the boy a reassuring smile and said, "It's okay, Ron. No one's blaming you for anything. In fact, we should be  _thanking_ you. You were all  _so brave._ "

Ron flushed red again as he said, "Uh, yeah… Well, okay then."

"One more thing though, Ron," Sirius said. "From your story, it seemed like the three of you were rather… _civil_ with young Mr Malfoy, yes? I was just wondering how was it that you four got over the school rivalry and decided to  _save the world_ together."

"Sirius," Marlene reprimanded, slapping the Head Council's arm.

"What? I was just wondering. And you don't need to be so abusive," Sirius said with a pout. Marlene rolled her eyes at her fiance's childishness.

"I do wonder about the same thing though, Miss McKinnon," Lucius said, who had been silent the whole time, in a manner that reminded Ron of his son. "Draco kept saying about how  _annoying_ Harry Potter and his two  _friends_ were in his letters, about how they couldn't go a day without yelling at each other. Then, all of the sudden, the four of them ran off playing heroes."

"Well, you should ask your son about it, Mr Malfoy," Ron said bravely, the look on his young face reminded the adults of his late uncles Fabian and Gideon Prewett. "You should ask him why he decided to become a hero all of the sudden, along with why he  _saved_ Hermione Granger during Halloween feast."

* * *

_"Why did you do it, Draco?"_

_"Why did you help Potter?"_

_"Why did you save the girl?"_

_"Why, Draco? Why?"_

_(I'd answer it if I could, Father.)_

By the time Draco finally woke up, the only pain he felt left was the slight pounding in his head. He had woken up a few times in the past five days he was unconscious, and he was quite aware of his parents coming to visit him the whole time. But, one thing he remembered for sure was seeing a mass of brown curls and the feeling of soft hands holding his own. It didn't take much for him to determine whose curls he saw  _(and whose hands were holding his),_ but he dared not to ask  _her_ about it. Even when she came to visit Potter, her brown eyes landed on his for a moment before she turned to her best friend, Draco kept silent. Mostly he pretended to be either asleep or too engrossed with the book he was reading when she and Weasley came. At night, when he and Potter were left alone, they never talked to each other. He knew though, judging from the glances Scarhead sent at him, that the Gryffindor was dying to know why Draco had saved him from the troll. But Potter was stubborn as hell, so he too kept silent. Seven days Draco stayed at Hospital Wing with Potter, seeing Gryffindors coming to visit him, and he couldn't help but to feel the slightest bit of envy when he realised the only person, other than his parents, who came to visit was Theo Nott.

 _(And maybe_ her _, but Draco couldn't let his hopes up.)_

When Draco was finally released by Madam Pomfrey to attend the feast, he tried hard not to bother himself too much with the whispers his fellow Slytherins were giving him. As he took his seat beside Theo on Slytherin's table, he noticed how  _everyone,_ even others from other Houses, were talking about him. It didn't help that he walked into the Great Hall with Potter by his side. Probably wasn't the smartest move he ever made to come with Potter, who was like a walking sign-board that screamed for attention. He was more than grateful when Theo didn't treat him differently and merely asked whether Draco wanted smoked-beef or chicken to go with his mashed-potato, and if he would pass him the salt please. Looking at Potter sitting with his friends, the blond found that the other boy was just as _comfortable_ as he was with all the attention he was receiving. A new sense of respect hit Draco because, for the first time ever, he realised that Potter wasn'tthe public-seeking idiot he had always thought him to be all this time. He probably sensed that Draco was looking at him because the green-eyed lad looked up from his food to look at Draco. A small nod was passed between the two boys, before the both of them turned their attention back to their food. That was when Draco felt someone took a seat beside him.

"Move over a bit, Malfoy. And pass me the chicken, will you?" Blaise Zabini said casually as he busied himself with his food. Draco was at lost for words that he didn't even realise when the dark-skinned boy impatiently snatched the plate of chicken from his hand.

"What are you doing, Zabini?" Theo said warily, a deep frown was set on his face. Both Draco and Theo were so used to Zabini being the loner in their year that to have him sitting with them was mind-boggling for them.

"I am having dinner, Nott. Same as you. Pretty sure it's allowed," Zabini said, still in the same tone.

"Yeah, well, last time I checked, you eat dinner alone," Theo retorted impatiently. "Something about you being  _better_ than everyone else."

"If I don't count you two, I  _am_ eating alone," Zabini said, nodding his head to the fact that the three of them had a good distance away from the rest of the Slytherins. "Besides, out of everyone else here, you two are the least annoying lately."

Theo opened his mouth and looked like he was going to say something rude. But one look from Draco, he kept silent. The blond flashed him a look of gratitude, to which he replied with a shrug of his shoulders. Draco knew that there was a reason Zabini was willing to come out from his solitude and joined them. Whatever his reason was, Draco didn't bother to know. As long as Zabini proved that he wasn't as dumb as everyone else, Draco was willing to ignore Zabini's change of heart. Resuming with their dinner, the three boys were silent even before Dumbledore asked for their attention. It was only then that Draco realised the Hall was decorated in Slytherin colours, a definite sign that they had won the House Cup, again. This lifted his mood up a litte bit, knowing that his House had won. He then listened to Dumbledore reading out the final points; Hufflepuff with three hundred and twenty-three points, Gryffindor with three hundred and seventy-two points, Ravenclaw with four hundred and thirty-seven points, and Slytherin with four hundred and eighty-two points. The whole Slytherin table errupted in cheers, and even Zabini beside Draco was smiling. But the smiles dropped from their faces when Dumbledore began to say that he was giving out points in the light of the recent even.

"Fifty points to Ron Weasley…"

"Fifty points to Hermione Granger…"

"Sixty points to Harry Potter…"

"And ten points to  _Neville Longbottom…"_

"He gave  _Longbottom_ too?" Theo gritted out, throwing deathly glares toward the Gryffindors who now had beaten Slytherin's points by sixty points.

"Stupid old coot," Zabini muttered under his breath scathingly.

Draco was too  _angry_ to even say anything.

"I know that some of you think that this hardly seems fair, right?" Dumbledore continued, and it took great effort for Draco to stop himself to yelling something rude. "That means I'll have to change that. So, I hereby give  _sixty_ points to  _Draco Malfoy_ for his decision to see past his school rivalry to determine what's right and wrong, and the brilliant skill of magic he showed by defeating a troll."

_Wait, what?_

"I suppose this will be the  _first_ time in a millennium that Hogwarts have  _two_ House Cup winners."

Everyone in the Great Hall was silent as they tried to process what Dumbledore was saying. The old wizard was smiling in mischief at every Gryffindor and Slytherin when he waved his hand, wandlessly changing the decorations into both Slytherin  _and_ Gryffindor colours. When both Houses, who were located the farthest from each other, finally got over their shock and confusion, a loud cheer that sounded a lot like an explosion erupted from both Houses. If his fellow Slytherins were against him for helping Potter before, now they were swarming him and praising him. It all felt like a dream to him, and he hardly realised whose hand it was that clapped his back, whose voice it was that chanted his name. The rest of the feast was like a blur to him. He didn't really remember what happened next after Dumbledore gave out the points. The next thing he knew Theo and Zabini were leading him back to Slytherin Dungeon, both of their faces were beaming as they talked animatedly about how it was about  _damn time_ someone acknowledged Slytherin for something other than their dark and evil reputation.

"How did you do it anyway?" Theo asked once the three of them were sitting on the couch in the Common Room. "How did you defeat the troll?"

"I dropped a good portion of the ceiling above me on it," Draco said, careful not to mention the fact that he was unconscious before he did it, and the only reason he was awake was because he heard a certain  _someone_ calling out for his name.

" _What?"_ Zabini exclaimed, eyes going so wide it was actually pretty funny. "You dropped the ceiling on top of a troll?"

"Yeah."

"Where were you when you did that?"

"Right in front of it…"

His answer got Theo and Zabini to stare at him as if he grew another head and a tail. Shaking his head in disbelief, Theo said, "Wow, Malfoy. I didn't know you were  _such_ a selfless bastard."

"I am  _not,"_ Draco huffed, rolling his eyes. After all, he still had a reputation as the world's biggest prick to uphold.

"Well, you could have  _died,_ you know," Zabini said, backing Theo up. "And I think that's pretty damn selfless, alright."

The blonde glared at the two boys across him, his old friend and new friend. With Crabbe and Goyle, they'd cower whenever Draco sent them his evil glare. But Theo and Zabini? They merely stared right back at him. Bloody pricks.

"So now you two decided to be friends? That's just  _amazing,"_ Draco spat. He lifted himself off the couch and made his way to the boys' dormitory.

"Don't be bitter because we kick you out of the Evil Gentlemen's Club, Draco!" Theo called. Even without looking, Draco knew the two boys were slapping each other's hands with annoying smirks on their ugly faces.

"Yeah," he heard Zabini said. "It's your fault after all for growing a heart in that little cold hole you have in your chest."

"Sod off, you two," Draco said before he disappeared into the dorm.

But even as he began the tedious work of changing into his pyjamas, Draco knew that no matter how those two irritated him, he would  _never_ trade them for the world. Because, for the first time  _ever,_ Draco felt what it was like to have  _friends._


	10. FIRST YEAR: Internal Affairs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sirius tried to make things right, even if it wasn't as easy as he wished it to be.

Sirius liked to think that he was the closest with Harry. That was a fact anyway, seeing that he spent so much time with the kid more than anyone else in the house did. Even when James and Lily were still alive, being Harry's Godfather, Sirius took it upon himself to be the one whom Harry felt the most comfortable with, other than his parents. People often thought that the reason he was so close with Harry was because he saw James in the little boy. That was wrong though. Sirius knew perfectly who he was talking to because Harry wasn't James – and that wasn't a bad thing. Harry was his own person, and Sirius was proud to call him  _his_ boy. So, when Harry started to distance himself from Sirius, and everyone else in the house, it didn't take Sirius long to realise that something was wrong with Harry. The moment they all (" _Yes, including you and your wife, Reggie; because you're family too now, remember?")_ picked the boy up at King's Cross, Sirius had felt something different about him. The green-eyed boy actually looked like he preferred to be at Hogwarts instead. Sirius would be lying if he said that didn't hurt. He had been raising Harry all his life, and he had long considered the boy his own kid. After the whole thing with the Sorcerer's Stone, Sirius realised just how much he  _missed_ his little Prongslet. He had asked Moony whether the werewolf knew what was wrong with their boy, but Remus merely said that Sirius should ask Harry himself. He was well aware that Remus was right, like he always was about  _everything_ else. Sirius should have talked to Harry. Why didn't he do so then? Because Sirius was an  _idiot_ , that was why. Throw him into a swarm of Death Eaters and dark creatures, he'd probably come out alive and unscathed. But when it came to talking? Especially when it involved feelings? He was hopeless _._ Nevertheless, after Marlene literally nudged him ( _violently_ ) to go talk to their Godson, he finally relented. Besides, there was  _nothing_  Sirius wouldn't do for Harry.

That was how the Auror ended up in front of his Godson's room, three days after the boy returned for his summer.

"Fawn? Can I come in?" Sirius said as he knocked on Harry's door.

"…Okay. Yeah, sure," came Harry's answer after awhile.

When Sirius got inside the room, he found Harry sitting on the foot of his bed, eyes on the framed-picture of James and Lily. In the picture, James was behind Lily, hugging his beloved wife who was holding their newborn son. Eyeing his Godson closely, Sirius silently marvelled how the boy looked exactly like Prongs did all those years ago, back when Sirius himself and James were around Harry's age. For a moment, Sirius was thrown back into the past as he remembered all the nights he spent at Potter house-hold when he couldn't stand it anymore in his own home. By the time they entered their third year of friendship, the Potters had installed another bed in James' room because of how Sirius would practically spend the whole summer at the their home. Sirius remembered how the late Fleamont Potter taught Sirius to play chess because his own son was a hopeless case, or all the hours Sirius spent helping Euphemia cooking for dinner because both her husband and son would only burn her kitchen instead of helping her. A small smile escaped Sirius when the memory of him running around the Potter household with James after every dinner up until they were thirteen, which later changed into smoking on the rooftop starting the summer of their fourth year. Taking a deep breath as he pulled himself back into the present, Sirius took a seat beside Harry, feeling a little awkward for  _being_  awkward. They were silent for a couple minutes, Sirius was wondering what he should say while Harry's attention was all set on the picture in his hands. It was until Sirius caught Harry's hand started to tremble that he realised he should have had this talk  _ages_  ago.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Sirius said gently. "You've been awfully weird this past few days. And don't lie to me saying that it's nothing. I  _know_  you, kid. And I'm worried about you. So, will you  _please_  tell this old man what's wrong?"

"It's… It's stupid, really," Harry began, turning his head to look at one of the many Quidditch posters all over his wall. "I just… You would probably laugh at me if I tell you."

"I won't. I promise," Sirius said quickly without hesitance.

"Really?" Harry said, the look in his eyes reminded Sirius of someone else's twenty years ago.

_("I promise I won't tell anyone, Evans.")_

_("Oh, really, Black?")_

_("Well, don't you trust me then?")_

_("This must sound crazy, but I actually do.")_

"Really." Sirius waited patiently for what felt like hours until Harry opened his mouth and the word-vomit came profusely.

"I was jealous of Jade," Harry said truthfully, his green eyes were suddenly pained and very child-like again. "For years, it was only you and me, Sirius. Well, sometimes Moony and the ladies were there too. But most of the time, it was you and me. And I know, it's very unfair of me because Marlene had been dreaming for a baby for years. But, every time I see you making faces at Jade, or when Marlene is busy entertaining her, that's when I feel  _so alone_. I realise that I'm  _not_  your kid. I'm just a boy who you adopted because you were best friends with my parents."

_("I feel like I'm imposing you and your family, James. I mean, I won't be surprised if one day your parents decide that I better kick myself out of the house.")_

_("Bloody hell, Padfoot, you're_ such  _a drama queen. Pretty sure my parents love you more than they love me, so shut up.")_

"No," Sirius said firmly, his tone seemed to surprise the teenager from the way he jumped a bit. "You are more than that. You're not just a kid I adopted because Prongs and Lily were my best friends. Harry, you're  _my_  kid. You were right when you said that for years, it'd been you and me. And it _doesn't_ change, kid. You're still my son, with or without Payne. I love you, even though you're not the product of me knocking up my Marley."

The whole time he spoke, Harry was silent. There was a look of disbelief was on his face. It was if he doubted the love and affection Sirius felt for him. But when the Auror reached the end of his speech, Harry's green eyes were filled with tears as he let out a soft chuckle. Sirius knew he'd said the right thing, so he grabbed Harry's hand and continued. "Harry, I want you to know that even if Marlene and I had a thousand kids after Jade, you will  _always_  be my son. You were here first before Jade for  _years._ And me having Jade or other kids doesn't mean I'd be kicking you aside. And the same goes for Marlene, or Remus and Doe when they finally have a kid. We  _are_  your parents, even if we're not biologically related to you. Whatever happens, we'll always be here for you. Really, you shouldn't be worried that we'd going to cast you aside anytime soon. Fawn, you're stuck with us till the end of time. Once a Marauder-"

"-always a Marauder," Harry finished, hugging Sirius tightly as the older man hugged him back. "I'm sorry, Sirius. I was so,  _so_  stupid."

"You were scared, and it was normal," Sirius said, patting Harry's back softly. "I understand perfectly. But, next time, I want you to talk to me, okay? Or Remus or whoever you feel comfortable to talk about this. Just…say something, yes? Don't keep us in the dark."

"I promise, this will be the last time. And I want you to know that I love you too, Sirius. You were a too much sometimes, but you were  _always_  there for me."

"Aw, look, I got dust in my eyes," Sirius laughed, wiping the tears that leaked from his eyes. He was glad when Harry laughed along with him. He put an arm around the boy's shoulder and pulled him to his feet. "Come on, let's have dinner. The women have cooked us something delicious."

Walking side by side, Sirius and Harry went down to have dinner with their family. Everyone else was already down there by the time they got there. Remus was engaged in a serious conversation with Regulus about Order related stuffs, and the two quickly shut up when they saw Sirius coming with Harry, changing their conversation into discussions about how things were in the Muggle world lately. Sirius' and Regulus' girls, Jade and Astrid, were lying in their respective cribs while their mothers were cooking with Dorcas, giggling adorably as the assigned Elf was entertaining the two babies until their mothers came. Ever since Regulus came to see Sirius, the older Black had decided that it'd be for the best for Regulus to stay with him, lest any ex-Death Eaters were hunting him down. At first, Regulus was reluctant because he didn't want people to think he was depending his and his family's life on Sirius. But after he listened to Sirius' reasoning that his family might be in danger if he kept on living with the Muggles, he relented. Just a week after the two brothers held the press conference, Sirius prepared the rooms for Regulus and his family. They'd been living together for five months, and to say that thing had gone smoothly would be a  _lie_. For one thing, the last time the two of them lived under the same roof was sixteen years ago. Therefore, they'd more or less forgotten each other's annoying quirks. Sirius had  _totally_ forgotten Regulus' annoying habit of waking up in the middle of the night to have late-night snacks. Being a light sleeper, Sirius found it maddening whenever he heard the sound of Regulus' footsteps coming down to the kitchen, waking him up from his deep slumber. Then there was also the fact that the brothers always found it hard to agree on  _anything_ to eat for dinner. Lucky for them their wives were very understanding and willing to cook two completelydifferent menu for the both of them.

At first, everyone found it amusing to find the two full-grown brothers fought like they were teenagers. But after the  _fifteenth_ time they fought in the  _six weeks_ Regulus and his family lived with Sirius, it started to get on everyone's nerves. Marlene was the first one to snap, obviously. The woman actually threatened to kick both Blacks out of the house so they'd sleep in the garden. Judging from the look on Irina's face, Sirius knew that the only reason the nurse refrained herself from loudly proclaiming her support toward Marlene's decision was because of how she feared to offend Sirius. But the woman, even though she still jumped about a foot in the air every time an Elf popped out of thin air, soon found her place among every occupant at the Black Manor. Albeit being five years younger than Marlene and Dorcas, they'd become best friends in no time. She was also starting to get used to magic, which was amazing in Sirius' opinion. He hadn't talked much to the woman, but she was growing on him. The fact that she'd changed his brother and made him happy would always be the reason why Sirius accepted her into his family with opened arms. Albeit yelling at each other for almost every day, Sirius cared about his brother a great deal, and vice versa.

When Harry was first introduced to Regulus, the boy seemed rather wary of his Godfather's brother. Sirius rarely spoke about his 'dead' brother to Harry, and to see the man that they'd all believed to be dead for so long was a jarring for the little boy. But, he got over it rather quick. Even though he was avoiding everyone, Harry was still very polite toward Regulus and Irina. When the boy found out that Regulus was a Seeker too, despite being rather moody, Sirius could see that Harry was  _dying_ to interrogate his younger brother. Sirius had told Regulus to be tactful with Harry, and his brother assured him that he would do so. As Sirius took his usual seat on Remus' other side, he watched Harry cautiously took his seat beside Regulus. At first, his Godson kept to himself, sending curt glances toward his brother. But after awhile, Regulus realised that there was someone who had been trying to get his attention. It started out a little awkward, with Regulus asking how was Quidditch. With head bowed down, Harry replied by saying that because he was unable to participate in the game, Slytherin won the game. Much to Sirius' amazement, Regulus made an effort to cheer Harry up, and added some suggestions for the next game. Sirius remembered how Regulus was always so much better with kids than he ever was, and judging from how quickly Harry fell in a comfortable conversation, it proved that Regulus' charm worked on Harry as well. It put a huge smile on Sirius' face to see his brother and his Godson talking so easily with each other, the fact that they'd just met a few days prior seemed to be forgotten.

"Oh great, you're here already," Marlene said as she entered the dining room with Dorcas and Irina. Both she and the Healer had their wands aimed at the plates of food behind them.

"Did it usually take them long to get here, Mar?" Regulus asked with a grin, and both Black brothers were brought back to the memories of their mother yelling for the both of them to get down quickly every dinner.

"You wouldn't believe it, Reg," Marlene sighed dramatically, throwing herself on her usual seat beside Sirius after she was done preparing all the food on the table. "These two gentleman with Mr Two-Face over there have absolute no control when they're too busy playing their Quidditch toys."

"They're not toys, Marlene!" Harry, Sirius and Remus exclaimed at the same time, having had the same argumentation countless times before. "They're limited edition figurines!"

"They're labelled for  _children age_   _ten_ ," Dorcas deadpanned, backing up her best friend once she'd made sure everyone had something on their plates. "Pretty sure when something are meant for someone bellow the age of fifteen, they're called  _toys."_

"But it's different when it comes to Quidditch figurines," Regulus said, winking toward Harry who beamed widely. Sirius and Remus laughed out loud at the scowl on Marlene's and Dorcas' faces.

"Should have known you'd back them up," Marlene snapped. "You and that annoying  _jerk_ are related, after all."

"What is Quidditch?" Irina inquired. She was enjoying her dinner, although she kept an eye on the Elf that was still taking care of her daughter.

"Quidditch is a sport game," Regulus answered. "It's a little bit like football where the players have to score the ball into the goal-posts, only we're riding brooms. There are seven players; three Chasers to score, a Keeper to stop the other team from scoring, two Beaters to beat away or knock the other players, and also a Seeker whose job is to seek a special ball that is worth a hundred and fifty points."

"You can come to my next game and see it yourself, if you want to," Harry added, smiling shyly toward the nurse. "It'll be easier to understand when you see it."

"Am I…am I allowed to?" Irina said, glancing toward her husband then toward Sirius. For some reason, whenever she was unsure about something, the girl would  _always_ look toward Sirius.

And whenever she did that, when those big blue eyes landed on his grey ones, Sirius couldn't help but to be reminded of a pair of big  _green_  eyes looking toward him with a hopeful look in those uncanny eyes the last time he saw  _her._

"You're  _family_ ," Sirius said, smiling toward the younger woman. "Both you and Reggie are  _our_ family. So, yes, of course, you're allowed."

_("You're asking me to tag along on your meet-the-parents dinner? Are you sure about that, Lil? I mean, I know I can get a bit obnoxious, but I do know there are some lines that I'm_ not  _to cross.")_

_("Don't be an idiot, Sirius. You're_ family.  _And we do need some extra help in case Tuney's bloated whale of a fiance starts to pick a fight with James.")_

* * *

It had been five months since his return from the dead, and even though he missed his small yet warm home, Regulus did like living with his brother. It wasn't about the luxury though. It was more about the fact that he had his brother back. When Sirius walked out of their parents' house all those years ago, a part of Regulus  _hated_ his brother for leaving him behind. That was probably one of the many reasons why he decided to become a Death Eater. It was like a sign of rebellion toward the brother that he thought had abandoned him. Regulus was a rational man, and he was also a firm believer of being the captain of his own fate. He was grateful though that there was some higher power out there that had intervened with his life, setting him on the right path again and giving him a second chance to right all his wrong. Sometimes he had horrible nightmares of him dying in the cave and watching his brother from the after life as the  _great_  Sirius Black was sent to prison after he was accused of becoming the reason of the Potters' death. The dreams were so vivid sometime, often times it would wake him up even from his deepest slumber. Regulus then would reach around for Irina, who readily snuggled closer into his arms, and then he would lie awake in his bed for hours as he tried to calm himself. He was aware that his life wasn't perfect, not even close. But the alternative, where he died and Irina was not a part of his life, where his brother was a convicted murderer and little Harry lived a horrible and unloved life? That was  _much_ too horrible.

"Hey, you," he heard Irina called out as she entered their room. "I've been looking for you."

"Hi," Regulus said, opening his arms so his wife could settle against his chest. "How was shopping with the ladies?"

There was going to be a big dinner to celebrate Regulus' return, as was customary in the Pureblood tradition when they wanted to introduce (or in Regulus' case,  _re-introduce)_ a family member to the public. Originally, both Regulus and Sirius didn't want to do it. They thought they'd done enough with the press conference. But a lot of the Council members of the Sacred Twenty Eight agreed that it would be beneficial to hold a dinner, saying that by doing so, Sirius could show to the rest of the world how Regulus was under his care and that  _anyone_ who dared to mess with Regulus and his family was going to face  _the_ Sirius Black as the leader of the Sacreds. That was the only reason Sirius and Regulus changed their minds. Thus, after much debate, Sirius allowed the ladies to go on shopping for dresses. He did have three Elves to follow them, so Regulus could breath in relief at the thought of his wife roaming around London without him.

"It was great," Irina said, grinning. "Mar and Doe took me to Madam Malkin's. I didn't have much girl friends growing up – or  _any_ at all. I was always the weird girl back at school."

"You and me both," Regulus said with a small smile. He leaned onto her so he could give her a kiss. "If it's any consolation to you, I didn't have friends too. I don't know how much you've learned from Marlene and Dorcas, but in the Pureblood society, we only have acquaintances for political benefits. Like, people only wanted to be friends with me after they found out who I was."

"It must be hard growing up for you," Irina said, her hand reaching up to caress his face softly. "I mean, I didn't have friends because people saw me as this weird girl who hated parties and looked down toward girls who threw themselves at boys. But you? You had acquaintances instead of friends, and you had to pick them carefully."

"I have you now though, and that's what important. The past hardly matters when the present is  _so_ much more appealing. Yes, the road I took for me to get here wasn't easy, and things were hard for me at first. But I have you and Astrid  _and_ my brother."

Irina took his hand and let him onto their bed. With her free hand, she gathered his other hand together. She trailed the lines in his palms, and Regulus watched her with absolute fascination. He truly couldn't picture his life without her.

"Well, I better go get ready, okay?" Irina said after awhile. "Big night tonight."

"I'd rather us spend it here in our room," Regulus replied with a cheeky grin. Irina rolled her eyes at her husband's childishness, knowing  _exactly_  what he had in mind.

"Your brother will kill you if you choose to ditch him tonight. After all, he did all this for you."

"He's gone through events like these for all his life. I think he'll be able to come up with an excuse if I really choose to stay here with you." His grin widening, Regulus leaned closer to kiss Irina, one hand cupping the back of Irina's head while the other had wrapped itself around her waist.

"Regulus!" Irina giggled, pushing Regulus away with a hand on his face. "We can't do this!"

"Yeah, listen to your woman, Reg!" Sirius yelled from outside of the room, his voice thick with humour. "Don't make me come in there and drag you out myself, brother!"

"Oh, sod off, Sirius!" Regulus yelled. He had the sudden and overwhelming urge to blast his brother through the door.

"Naughty, naughty," Sirius said as he started to walk away, his annoying chuckles were still heard even though he'd gone. Annoyed that his time with his wife had been disturb, Regulus buried his head into the crook of Irina's neck and groaned immaturely like a child.

"Come on, husband mine; you heard your brother," Irina said. She gave a peck on Regulus' forehead before she went into the bathroom to get ready.

"Someday, I'm going to kill him and you  _cannot_ stop me," Regulus called to his wife. The woman merely stuck her tongue out at him and disappeared into the bathroom.

The next two hours till the so-called dinner were spent with Regulus hanging out with Sirius and Remus in the kitchen, dreading the moment when the Elves would start to announce guests. The temptation not to drink themselves to oblivion was to hard to resist, but fortunately  _(or unfortunately)_ Remus was there to stop the brothers from doing anything stupid. Just a minute after Irina went into the bathroom, the door was knocked loudly by Marlene and Dorcas, who later  _demanded_ for Regulus to leave the room so they could start on the painful and tedious process of primping themselves. The younger Black had made a mistake on commenting that the girls took the party too seriously ( _"Stop with the puns, for Merlin's sake!" his brother had hollered from downstairs) –_ to which Marlene replied with a vicious glare as she spat that it was easy for Regulus to say so, seeing that men did not need to do much work to look perfect. Regulus had thought that Marlene was going to kill him right then and there. Lucky for him, Mrs Lupin was as much of a blessing as her husband was, and she was quick enough to usher Marlene into the room before the other woman could hex Regulus' bits into... _bits_. Sirius looked at him in sympathy when he complained to him about Marlene, telling him that he was lucky not to get hexed. That was how the three men of the house waited for their significant others to get ready in absolute boredom. At least the kids were there to keep them entertained as they watched Harry trying ( _and failing)_ to teach Jade and Astrid to stop poking at his glasses.

The first guest arrived just minutes after the door to Regulus' room was opened, revealing the ladies of the house stepping out in their own respective dresses. Dorcas was the first to get out, dressed in a breath-taking brown dress that matched her eyes. She was looking at her husband nervously, wringing her fingers together. But, even though Regulus was blind toward other woman's beauty other than his wife's, he could tell that Dorcas had  _nothing_ to worry about. Judging from the dumbstruck look on Remus' face, the man probably had a hard time to stop himself from going all caveman and swooped his petite Healer into his room – which was  _unlike_ Regulus' brother. The moment Marlene came out behind Dorcas, wearing a bold red dress that clung to her effortlessly as if she hadn't just given birth a few months prior, Sirius looked like he was just half  _an inch_ away from dragging the woman into his own room. The look in the older Black's eyes screamed out all the inappropriate thoughts he had in his mind, one of them surely was about how he preferred Marlene  _out_ of the dress. Regulus was just about to laugh at both Aurors' face, but was forced to swallow it down when he saw his own  _angel._ Irina was dressed in a silver dress that shimmered every time she moved and the glitters on it caught the lights. In his eyes, Irina was always the most beautiful woman in the whole universe. But he really had to admit that right at that moment, the only time Irina looked even prettier than she was during their wedding day.

"Well?" Dorcas said for herself and the other two ladies. She gave a little twirl with a shy smile. "What do you think, boys? How do we look?"

It was until Harry had answered with a little sneaky grin on his young face that Regulus realised how he, his brother and Remus had gone stupid and began to stammer out words that didn't sound English at all.

"You all look amazing, Doe," Harry said kindly. "And if you don't believe me, these three  _intelligent_ men's reaction should be proved enough."

"Aw, you're too nice, dear," Marlene said, ruffling her Godson's hair affectionately. Turning to her fiance, she rolled her eyes though the way she beamed couldn't betray the joy she felt upon the reaction she saw on Sirius. "And how are you, love? You're doing alright?"

When Sirius opened his mouth, Regulus was damn sure what he'd said  _definitely_ wasn't English.

"I'm sorry? Didn't catch that," Marlene said with a smirk.

Blinking his eyes a thousand times, Sirius took a deep breath and finally said, "Let's just say that if we weren't in the company of children, I'd do something  _really inappropriate_ right now to you."

"Ew, Sirius," Harry said, scrunching his face in his disgust. He put his hand on the twin-cart where the girls were lying and began to push into the ballroom, shaking his head dramatically at his Godfather.

"Remus, are you alright?" Dorcas asked, putting a hand on her husband's shoulder. Sirius snickered as he looped his hand around Marlene's.

"It seems dear Moony is in a bit of shock, Doe," Sirius laughed before he followed Harry and the girls into the ballroom.

"I hate him," Remus finally said once his out of his trance-like state. Regulus nodded his head at Remus' statement, understanding perfectly what the werewolf meant.

"You and me both, Remus. You and me both," Regulus said.

"Well, we better get in then," Dorcas said, a huge smile on her face. It was clear that she was extremely pleased at how she managed to stunt the ever calm and collected Remus Lupin. "Even with Marlene with him, I still don't feel it's save to leave the kids alone with Sirius."

"Yeah, lest he manages to convince Harry to ask the Elves to start some firework-show in front of the guests," Remus agreed. Waving a hand, Remus led his wife into the ballroom.

"What about you, Mr Black?" Irina said once they were alone. She took a step closer toward Regulus until they were less than an inch apart. "What do you think of my dress?"

"Darling," Regulus started, careful not to ruin Irina's make up when he kissed her. "I'll let you know that my brother isn't the only with naughty intentions at the moment."

"Naughty boy," Irina giggled. "But, since you've been  _such_ a good boy, I think I'll give you a reward after we're done with this party."

Regulus laughed at her words. "That's one of the way to get me looking forward to having this whole thing done and over with. I guess we'll have to get in then, Mrs Black. Can't have the guests waiting for  _me,_ now, right?"

Still chuckling, the couple went into the ballroom, arms linked around each other. Sirius had briefed them all in the morning that there would be at least a hundred guests coming, not counting the possible reporters and plus-ones ( _or twos)_ that might tag along. Being raised as the son of Head Council of the Sacred Twenty Eight, Regulus and Sirius knew what to expect when guests were to come. Regulus could guess same thing went for Marlene, who was a Pureblood too. But for Remus and Dorcas, who were raised half-bloods, he understood their stiff composure. He could only imagine what Irina was feeling, seeing that she was a Muggle from a middle class family. When the bell rang, signalling them of the first guest, Regulus felt Irina's grip around his hand tightened. He had no idea what his wife had learned about the Pureblood society from Marlene and Dorcas, but seeing that worried look on her face, Regulus could tell it wasn't anything pleasant. The first ones to arrive were,  _of course,_ the Malfoys. Lucius was dressed in his best robes, a mask of impenetrable indifference on his face as he moved further into the house with his arm around his wife, Regulus' and Sirius' cousin Narcissa, while their son Draco was tailing behind him. He politely shook each other their hands, though he did have the decency to look a bit uncomfortable in front of Marlene. Sirius had told Regulus about the Head Malfoy's attempt to poison Marlene and the baby. Looking at the man now, Regulus began to wonder what was Lucius thinking when he sent the pie to Marlene, and he would probably go all blunt and ask him about it, if he hadn't caught sight of Adrian Nott's ugly mug looking down at Irina when she gave him her hand.

"Reggie, don't," Sirius said from under his breath. The older Black, who had been standing not far from Regulus, was quick to stop his younger brother's hand from reaching for his wand. "Don't do anything stupid now. Not here."

"Did you see what he just did?" Regulus hissed, glaring at the back of Nott's head as the man headed straight for his seat, leaving Irina's offered hand hanging in the air. "He very well just  _insulted_ my wife and myself when he did that."

"I understand perfectly, Regulus. But  _this_ is a party in your honor. That means we can't have you killing a prestigious member of the Sacred and the Wizengamot. Rita Skeeter would have a field day."

"To hell with that wretched wench. That bastard was the reason I got involved with Voldemort in the first place."

Regulus realised it a moment too late that he had said something he had  _sworn_ to never say out loud, much less to his brother. Even though they had their moments where they'd almost kill each other, Regulus had never witnessed a moment where pure and unadulterated rage crossed Sirius' handsome face. The moment the words left Regulus' mouth, he actually had to refrain himself from flinching at the murderous look on Sirius' face. His brother was always popular for his temper, but only then did Regulus understand  _why._  He was half-expecting Sirius to attack Nott right at that moment, but it seemed like the man had other things in mind. He squeezed Regulus' shoulder, wordlessly making a promise that he'd make things right, and then went off to greet the next guests. Most of the guests who came were the elite Purebloods and Ministry officials, and that meant Regulus had to go through the unbearable  _pain_ of watching his wife lowering her hand multiple times when people rejected her handshake. Out of the a hundred-something guests coming, Regulus could count with _one_ handhow many had actually taken Irina's hand genuinely because they really wanted to know her and  _not_ because of the glare Sirius threw from across the room. He felt immensely grateful when Arthur and Molly Weasley greeted Irina with more than the usual dose of formal politeness and with kindness instead. Regulus thought he was going to die in guilty and shame when Augusta Longbottom, whose son and daughter-in-law had been tortured into insanity by his fellow Death Eaters, didn't even blink as she shook Irina's hand with one hand while the other gently held his wife's shoulder. The former Slytherin had never felt  _lower_  than he was at that moment.

The dinner went on smoothly after everyone had arrived. Cornelius Fudge, that useless, idiotic  _pig,_ was the last one to arrive _._ Food was served continuously, no matter how much those greedy lot had. For most of the time, Regulus kept quiet as he sat between his wife and his brother. A lot of people tried to talk to him, but Sirius and Marlene were always quick to answer it for him when they noticed how uncomfortable he was. He wasn't blind though, nor was he deaf. He  _knew_ people talked about his wife. He saw them pointing their rude and filthy fingers at Irina, heard how they looked down upon the fact that he'd married a Muggle when even his wayward and rebellious older brother kept the tradition and married a Pureblood. As the hours passed, it was getting harder for Regulus to keep his temper in check. The only reason he managed to stop himself from exploding was the feeling of Irina's comforting hand on his own, and the assuring smile she gave him. He felt horrible for subjecting her into this horrible event where everyone looked down on her. When someone made another not-so-subtle jab about Irina, Regulus was going to snap when Sirius beat him to it.

"Mr Thicknesse," Sirius said loudly as he forcefully pushed his brother into his seat. "I see that you, and probably everyone else here, have made it  _habit_  tonight to say things about my  _sister-_ in-law _._ "

The tone Sirius had taken, cold and calculative, chilled even  _Regulus._ Sirius threw a look to each one of his guest, his grey eyes were menacing. The sweet yet humourless smile on his face was enough to remind everyone of Sirius' status as the only man, other than the Prime Minister, who had a say in the fate of the British Wizarding World. That wanker Thicknesse seemed to realise his mistake, and made a hasty effort to correct himself.

"I am sorry, Master Black, but I was just – "

"Need I remind you that you are all myguest here? I invited you to _my_  house _,_ and have you eating my foodso all of us can celebrate my brother's return. I didn't ask for anything in return except for you to  _respect_ my family. And you,  _Pius,_ just because you got promoted recently into becoming Cornelius' new _dog_ , thought that you had the rightto talk about my brother and his wife? Are you really that  _thick_?"

If he wasn't so stunned by Sirius' display of defending himself and Irina, Regulus would have laughed at Sirius' little pun.

"I actually didn't want to hold this dinner. I  _hate_ stuffy events like these. But now, after I see how you've been treating my family, I know that I've made the right choice. So, I hereby bestow my protection unto my brother Regulus Black and his  _Muggle_ wife Irina, and also their  _half-blood_ daughter Astrid.  _I_ will personally see to it that my brother and his family are going to be treated well. You all know what I'm capable of doing. So, if any of you have brilliant ideas on making Regulus' life or his family's life hell, you better believe it when I say I'll come knocking to your down and make  _your_ life hell."

When no one said anything else, a portion of Sirius' murderous look decreased as a look of triumphant took over. Leaning into his seat, Sirius said, "Now that we all have an understanding, let's enjoy the delicious ice cream my Elves have prepared."


	11. FIRST YEAR: Secrets and Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beautiful women of the Black family were always a force to be reckon with.

Narcissa Malfoy was every bit the Pureblood she was raised to be. She always dressed impeccably, she memorised perfectlythe proper etiquette as a Pureblood lady who was part of the elite society, she could tell which one diamond was was even from ten feet away. When she met someone new, it took Narcissa less than five minutes to determine whether they were Purebloods or half-bloods or  _filthy scum._ But there was more than that to be a  _proper_ Pureblood. She knew that there were other values that she had to uphold. When Narcissa was just a little girl, not older than seven ( _back when she had_ all  _of her sisters),_ she remembered her late Grandmother Black told her that the  _most_ important part of being a Pureblood was that her loyalty lied, first and foremost, to the honourable Black family. The old woman said that even when Narcissa was married to another Pureblood, no matter how respectable the man was, she should never forget that she was  _forever_ a Black. No matter what happened, she must  _not_ turn her back on her truerelatives because family was the only thing that mattered in the world when all else was ruined and torn apart.

"And you three," old Grandma Black had said a month before her death, her grey eyes were looking seriously at Narcissa and her sisters. "You mustn't let  _anything_ get in your way. We Black women are alwaysstronger than our men, and that scares people. In the future, your sisterhood will be tested. Men will try to tear you three apart because when you stand alone, you are weak. But if you remember our values, it should not matter."

Naturally, just like everything else in her life, things didn't go as she wished it would.

When Narcissa was sixteen, her older sister Andromeda walked out of their house after their parents made her to choose between her family or her then-fiance Ted Tonks. It had been two decades since the last time she saw Andy.

When Narcissa was twenty-six, her oldest sister Bellatrix was sent to Azkaban for torturing Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom to the point of insanity. It had been a decade since the last time she saw Bella.

She knew that she was slowly losing her family.  _She knew that._ She wished she could do anything to change what had happened, but unless she could get hold of a Time-Turner, there was nothing that she could do to make things right again. Narcissa wasn't a fool, unlike what Bellatrix always believed her to be. She was actually quite bright. She was aware that the reason her family was breaking apart was because of the  _stupid_ prejudice war the world had. A part of her wanted to  _change_ her views because now she understood that because of it, she lost her sisters. But it was hard to change something that had been ingrained into her brain since she was born. The fact that she was married to one of the Dark Lord's biggest supporter certainly wasn't making things easy. Yes, Lucius had managed to wriggle his way out of the jail-time, but he was still the same Dark Arts prince that stole her heart, the same prejudiced bigot who had given her flowers when she cried over Andromeda's departure. Oh, Narcissa  _hated_ Lucius for being a Death Eater. She hated that because of his relations to all those dark wizards, the whole world thought so little of her family other than the evil megalomaniac people believed them to be. She hated every evil things he did under the Dark Lord's command. But deep down, she knew the Lucius she had fallen in love with, the man who winked at her after he hexed Bellatrix's hair green during a Pureblood party, was still there somewhere. That side of Lucius had never left. It only made an appearance when they were alone in the safety of their chambers.

She should hate Lucius, her Grandma would tell her to do that. But how could she hate the man that she truly loved? How could she leave the man who had given her beautiful and brilliant son?

_(I understand now, Andy. I do. I truly do. And I'm_ really  _sorry_.)

When Draco was born, Narcissa thought that she had never seen a babe as beautiful as the one she was holding in her arms. The moment the tiny little thing opened his grey eyes, she knew that there was  _nothing_ she wouldn't do for him. She watched proudly as Draco grew up to be a brilliant boy who spoke before his first birthday, and had started walking just a few months later. She showered the boy with love and affection that most Pureblood parents seemed to neglect on showing. She might have spoiled him a little too much, but that wasn't what worried her the most. As Draco got older, she noticed that the boy got closer and closer to his father. It wasn't like Lucius had never cared for his son. No, it was actually quite the contrary. Ever since Draco's birth, Narcissa had always felt like she was  _competing_ against her husband for Draco's love. Lately, she felt like her beloved son was distancing himself from her as Lucius introduced him to the outside world. Father and son would go together on little trips after dinner, and every time they got back, Narcissa saw something in her son's eyes that she had  _never_ seen before. She saw contempt _,_ and the fact that the emotion got even more pronounced scared Narcissa. The beautiful woman had been silent for a long time. She had let everything happened without lifting a finger to stop or change anything. But now that her son was involved, she realised that she had to do  _something._ Narcissa knew she had to do something lest her son would follow the dark path her sister and husband had gone through.

And  _that_ was the reason why she found herself at St Mungo's a week after her cousin Regulus' return party, standing right in front of Healer Lupin's office when most of the staffs had gone home.

"Come in," Narcissa heard the Healer called from her office at the sound of her knocking. Taking a deep breath, the Malfoy lady got in.

"Evening, Healer Lupin," she greeted formally, giving a small smile when Dorcas Lupin lifted her head up and looked really shocked to find Narcissa there.

"Mrs Malfoy," Lupin said, composing herself quickly once she got over her shock. There still was a bit of a frown on her face though.

"I'm sorry for not reserving an appointment before. I wish I hadn't interrupted you from your work or something," Narcissa said as she took the seat across Lupin. The petite Healer shook her head.

"Not at all, Mrs Malfoy. I was about to head home, but I think I still have sometime before my husband sends out a search party for me." Narcissa knew the other woman meant it as a joke, so she tried to give a small laugh in return, albeit forced.

"My son talked a lot about you, you know," Narcissa said, remembering Draco's rare show of admiration toward someone who  _wasn't_ his father. "He told me how good you were toward him after-  _during_  his…stay at the Hospital Wing. He appreciated the fact that you treated him just as you did your Godson. And I'm forever grateful for your help."

"I was only doing my job, Mrs Malfoy," Lupin said. "And although Draco had the tendency to exaggerate a  _little_ , it really didn't bother me. It was rather funny, actually."

"Draco's dramatic flares come from the Black family," Narcissa offered good-naturedly. She was glad when the other witch laughed, knowing that her cousin Sirius must have shown the same childish tantrums her son did when the Auror was hurt.

"Oh yes, I believe so," Lupin chuckled, her eyes twinkled fondly. They fell into a comfortable silent for awhile until Narcissa decided that she really shouldn't stall lest Auror Lupin would  _really_ send his men to find his wife.

"Well, I'm here to talk about something really important, Healer Lupin." Narcissa stopped, glancing at the beautiful wedding ring Lucius had slipped around her finger fourteen years prior.

_("My love, what's wrong? Tell me.")_

"About what, Mrs Malfoy?"

_("Lucius? Lucius, please.")_

"I'm here to talk about the poisoned pies my husband sent to your friend Miss McKinnon."

All the warmth and humour dropped from Lupin's face, replaced by something harsh that didn't fit the petite witch at all. Leaning onto her seat, Lupin's blue eyes stared at Narcissa long and hard before she finally spoke. "Why did he do that?"

_Why indeed, Healer Lupin._

"You are aware of my husband's involvement in the First War, right?" Narcissa began with a rethorical question. "Now, we all know how Lucius convinced the Ministry that he was under the Imperius Curse the whole time. I believe that, seeing who your husband is, you know Lucius lied."

"I know that, Mrs Malfoy. And you're right; Remus told me everythingabout his and Sirius' suspicion toward your husband's shoddy past."

"Then you'll understand that when I say that my husband did what he did because he heard  _rumours_ the Dark Lord was coming back. The way he saw it, the only way the Dark Lord wouldn't kill us was by hurtingSirius Black."

_("I've done something horrible, Cissy.")_

"How did Mr Malfoy know Voldemort was coming back?" Lupin asked smartly. "I'm assuming that he knew Voldemort was after the Stone with Quirrel's help. How did your husband find out about it?"

Narcissa loved Lucius. She truly did love him.

But, she knew her priorities. She always did.

It didn't mean what she was going to do didn't break her heart though.

"I promise I'll tell you everything I know about Lucius and everything he did," Narcissa said, feeling her heart racing. "But you have to promise me that you will  _not_ tell your husband or my cousin that I'm your source of information. And please,  _don't_  come after him. If you capture Lucius, he'll know that I've betrayed him."

"Why? Is he going to hurt you then?" Lupin said, the look on her face looked angry at the thought that Lucius might hurt her. It amused Narcissa that the other woman cared for her well-being.

"No, Lucius will never hurt me. He  _is_ bad person, but he loves his family too much to hurt us. No, I was afraid that if he finds out, that means the rest of  _them_ will find out too. And when theydo…" Narcissa trailed, the thought was too much for her to utter out loud.

"I see…" Lupin said. "Well, I'll see what I can do, Mrs Malfoy. And oh, I hope you're not offended when I ask this, but do you want  _anything_ else in exchange for the information you'll be giving us?"

Narcissa stiffened slightly. This was it. This was the reason why she went to see the Healer.

"Actually, yes," Narcissa said, her voice was a tad higher in her anxiety. "I…I want to ask for Dumbledore's protection. It's not for me though. I think I can hold on very well myself. I want protection for my children."

The word didn't escape Dorcas Lupin's keen hearing.

_"Children?"_ the other woman repeated, looking thoroughly taken aback.

"Yes," Narcissa whispered. "Children."

For the first time ever since she found out about it, she moved her hand to caress her still-flat stomach gently, allowing someone else other than herself to find out her secret.

Because, not even Lucius knew she was with a child.

* * *

_"Stupefy!"_

_"Protego!"_

_"Impedimenta!"_

A flash of blue light, followed by a dull thud as her spell hit her opponent. She waited for ten seconds until the signal came. Pleased with herself, she finally lowered her wand and helped the poor sod to stand. Soft claps came from all direction as people congratulated her. She gave them all a small smile but said nothing. Her muscles were screaming from the strain of having to duel for two hours nonstop _._ She was so tired and all she wanted to do was to get back to her flat so she could sleep until next week. But everything – the fatigue, the soreness – it was all worth it though. At least now she could proudly say that she was no longer the clumsy, half-blood Hufflepuff who always blew things up. She could now say that she was  _Auror Nymphadora Tonks_. Starting from that day on, people would never bother asking about her parents anymore. Heck, she could even ask people to call her by her last name and no one would question her about it. Feeling a lot happier than she ever was in years, once she was done shaking hands with all of the people present for her final Auror test, Tonks quickly excused herself to the locker room. Only when she was sure that she was alone did she finally drop her façade of bubblegum-pink hair and teal eyes, and revealed her true appearance. Her cheek-bones shifted higher and her nose got a little longer as her hair changed into its natural light-brown and her eyes also had gone back to her dull brown orbs. She paid a slight glance to her reflection on the mirror and let out a deep breath.

For years since she was young, Tonks always had to deal with the constant teasing her school mates threw at her about the fact that she was a half-blood related to one of the oldest and most powerful Pureblood family in all of Britain. Not everyone knew it, but at least in the Pureblood society, it wasn't exactly a secret that her mother Andromeda was disowned from her own family because of her decision to marry a Muggle-born. That was why Tonks decided to become an Auror, because she knew that if she succeeded, the look on her tormentors' faces would be priceless. When she first applied, she made sure to keep quiet about her parents, or her relations to the Black family. She was well aware that her mother's cousin was one of the best Aurors in his era, and Tonks really wanted nothing to do with his brilliant reputation if she was to pass. It wasn't like Tonks didn't like Sirius Black. In fact, she practically worshipped the ground he walked on. The two of them were really close because Sirius often treated her like the little sister he always wanted from the late Lily Potter, and Tonks really liked the thought of Sirius as an older brother of sort. But Tonks knew that if anyone was to find out she was related to Sirius, people would think that the only reason she passed her Auror test was because of Sirius and  _not_ because she really was a good witch. The last thing she needed was for people to doubt her.

"Hi, kid!" Sirius called her after she had her shower and was heading out of the locker room, her bubblegum-pink hair and teal eyes were back on view. "Great work back there. So proud of you."

"Hello, Sirius," she greeted him. "I didn't know you were watching. And by the way, I thought I told you to  _not_ talk to me when were in public."

"I'm Moody's second-in-command, girl. So, of  _course_ I'd be watching," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "And about me not talking to you in public, there's no one else around. Everyone's either gone home or back at the training room. Besides, if you're still worried about people doubting your ability, I'll bloody knock some sense into their pitiful brains."

"Nice to know that I'll always have you to count on to," Tonks laughed. The senior Auror winked at her and chuckled.

"You know that I'll always have your back, kid. Nothing I won't do for Andy's little girl."

It was Tonks' turn to roll her eyes. She hated it when he said that. "What do you want to talk about, Sirius? I know you're fond of hearing yourself talk, but if you have nothing important to say, I'd really like to go home."

In all the years she knew the man, Tonks rarely saw him without his usual grin. The only times his grin was absent was when there was something terrible happened. The first time she saw it was back when she was only eight, a month after the death of James and Lily Potter. Tonks and her parents went to the funeral, and it was the first time she met her mother's cousin. She remembered being a little scared of Sirius upon seeing the grim look on his face. It took her mother sometime to convince little Nymphadora that cousin Sirius was actually a really  _funny_  man. Tonks and her mother agreed since a long time ago that Sirius was the perfect embodiment of mischief. Therefore, whenever he lost his grin and looked distressed, it was unsettling to see.

"I just received a letter," Sirius said stiffly. "The letter said that there'd been sightings of Voldemort."

"Huh," Tonks said. "I get that it's important news, but I fail to see why you need to tell me this."

"The letter isn't signed, and there's no return address."

"So?"

"But it did say that Voldemort was seen in Romania."

"What does it – "

Oh.

_("Most girls don't like to get dirty, you know.")_

_("Well, I'm not most girls, so shut up or I'll kick you.")_

Tonks let out a shuddering breath as she closed her eyes in an effort to blink away the overwhelming feelings she had. Her mind had taken a sudden trip down memory lane, and no matter how hard she tried, she was powerless to stop herself from going through every singlememory she had of  _him._ It had only been a year, and she thought that it was enough time for her to get over it. But now, she knew that even if it had taken her a century,  _he_ would always be in her mind. When Tonks opened her eyes again, she found Sirius' mercurial ones had looked at her in worry. The older man was the only person other than herself and  _him_ who knew about it. It was actually by pure chance that Sirius found out about it, when he witnessed Tonks screaming at  _him_ that day. Being the good person he was, Sirius promised that he'd not tell Andromeda about it.

"You okay?" Sirius asked, cocking his head to the side in a manner that reminded Tonks greatly of her mother. It was obvious that the two cousins shared more than blood.

"I'll be fine," Tonks said. Taking a deep breath, she continued. "It's from  _him,_ you think?"

"I don't think so. I  _know_ so." Grimly, Sirius added, "And before you start asking me how, I just found out that the last time anyone saw him was almost  _a month_ ago. So, if my maths are correct, he went missing around the same time he sent me this letter."

Without even saying it out loud, Tonks knew what Sirius meant.

"What do you want to do about it?" Tonks asked after awhile. If there was anything she knew about her mother's cousin, it was that Sirius would jump at the first chance to rescue someone. The Metamorphmagus suspected that it had something to do with the fact that he lost his best friends and didn't want anyone to feel the pain he felt.

"I'm going to rescue him, of course," Sirius said, confirming Tonks' guess. "And you're coming with me, kiddo."

Tonks wasn't lying when she said she didn't see it coming.

_"What?"_ Tonks yelped, glaring at Sirius in disbelief. "Are you insane? Wait no. Don't answer that. You _are_ insane."

Sirius let out an amused chuckle as he reached out to ruffle her hair, much to Tonk's utmost annoyance. "No, sweetheart. Contrary to popular belief, I'm perfectly sane. At least, right now I am... I want you to come with me because one, it's not exactly an Auror mission so I can't have my men coming with me. Two, your tracking skills are brilliant and if there's anyone who can tell where he might be going, it's you. And three, it is your  _boyfriend_ we're rescuing, dear. Who knows him best other than you? And his mum, perhaps. Also, I do like a little plot twist where the damsel saves the knight."

"But…" Tonks trailed off, knowing that there was no point to argue Sirius. His reasons were right after all.

_(And she did_ want  _to come and rescue him.)_

"Alright, I'll do it," Tonks sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "But  _you_ are the one who's going to tell my mother that you're taking me away on a rescue mission in Romania, when I've only graduated just hours ago. Merlin knows the woman will have a fit if I do it myself."

"You leave Andy to me," Sirius said, winking. He then took her hand and started to drag to follow him. "Come on, now. We have to go somewhere and we have to go  _soon."_

"Wait, where are we going?  _Sirius, wait!_  Tell me where are we going!"

"Tell Charlie Weasley's family that we're saving their Golden Boy, of course."


End file.
